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Origin and history of collide

collide(v.)

"to strike together forcibly," 1620s, from Latin collidere "strike together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + laedere "to strike, injure by striking," which is of unknown origin. For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. Related: Collided; colliding.

also from 1620s

Entries linking to collide

acquisition(n.)

late 14c., adquisicioun, "act of obtaining," from Old French acquisicion "purchase, acquirement" (13c., Modern French acquisition) or directly from Latin acquisitionem (nominative acquisitio), noun of action from past-participle stem of acquirere "get in addition, accumulate," from ad "to," here perhaps emphatic (see ad-), + quaerere "to seek to obtain" (see query (v.)).

The meaning "thing obtained" is from late 15c. The vowel change of -ae- to -i- in Latin is due to a phonetic rule in that language involving unaccented syllables in compounds.

collision(n.)

"act of striking or dashing together," early 15c., from Late Latin collisionem (nominative collisio) "a dashing together," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin collidere "to strike together" (see collide).

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elide
1590s, a legal term, "to annul, do away with," from French elider (16c.), from Latin elidere "strike out, force out," in grammar "suppress (a vowel)" from ex "out" (see ex-) + -lidere, combining form of laedere "to strike" (see collide). The Latin word in grammatical use translat
clash
c. 1500, "to make a loud, sharp sound," of imitative origin, or a blend of clap and crash. Compare Dutch kletsen "splash, clash," German klatschen, Danish klaske "clash, knock about." Figurative sense, in reference to non-physical strife or battle, is first attested 1620s. Of thi
jar
1520s, "to make a brief, harsh, grating sound," often in reference to bird screeches; the word often is said to be echoic or imitative; compare jargon (n.), jay (n.), garrulous. Figurative sense of "have an unpleasant effect on" is from 1530s; that of "cause to vibrate or shake"
hurt
(into), bump into; charge against, rush, crash into; knock (things) together," from Old French hurter "to ram, strike, collide...Perhaps from Frankish *hurt "ram" (source also of Middle High German hurten "run at, collide," Old Norse hrutr "ram," Middle...
stutter
Middle English stutten "to stutter, stammer" (late 14c.), cognate with Middle Low German stoten "to knock, strike against, collide...
broadside
As a verb from 1930, "skid sideways" (intransitive); transitive sense "strike broadside, collide with the side of" is by...
strike
.; meaning "to collide" is from mid-14c.; that of "to hit with a missile" is from late 14c....
hit
late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjan,
shock
1560s, "violent encounter of armed forces or a pair of warriors," a military term, from French choc "violent attack," from Old French choquer "strike against," probably from Frankish, from a Proto-Germanic imitative base (compare Middle Dutch schokken "to push, jolt," Old High Ge
smash
1759, transitive, "break to pieces," earlier "kick downstairs" (c. 1700), probably of imitative origin (compare smack (v.), mash (v.), crush (v.)). The intransitive meaning "act with crushing force" is from 1813; the transitive sense of "strike violently" is from 1835. Tennis sen

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