


The Latin phrase si vis pacem, para bellum is taken from para, which is the imperative of parare, which means “to prepare.” This comes from the Proto-Indo-European root pere-, which means to produce or to procure. The 9mm Parabellum has a specific type of handgun cartridge designed by Georg Luger. What is the etymology of the word parabellum?Īccording to Etymonline, the word parabellum has been used to refer to the type of firearm since 1904 when the company Mauser & Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken began manufacturing them.

This is the early 20th century term for a specific German make of gun. According to Lexico, the word parabellum is used to refer to a certain type of semiautomatic pistol or machine gun. The director of the John Wick movies states that parabellum is a gun term, and he is correct. Parabellum is also what some military and ballistic guys use to describe a nine millimeter - parabellum. You know, John Wick’s going to go for war with the entire world. “John Wick uses a lot of languages and I’m a big fan of Latin. The director of the franchise, Chad Stahelski, chose to use this word in order to educate the audience. In this film, the titular hit man kills many people in an attempt to escape the bounty that has been put on him. This word is famously included in the title of the third John Wick film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, according to Entertainment Weekly. What is the meaning of the word parabellum?Īccording to Merriam-Webster Unabridged English Language Dictionary, the word parabellum is part of the Latin phrase “si vis pacem, para bellum.” This Latin phrase means “if you want peace, prepare for war.”
