Collide
/kəˈlaɪd/noun
To strike one another forcefully; to crash together.
Did you know?English got collide through Latin *collidere*, from *com-* “together” + *laedere* “to strike, wound,” so the word’s oldest sense is literally a meeting that leaves a bruise.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leid-
“to strike, hurt, or wound”
Latin
Latin
laedere
“to strike, hurt, injure”
Latin
Latin
collidere
“to strike together, dash against”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
collisio
“a striking together, collision”
14th–16th Century
English
collide
“to strike or dash together; to come into conflict”
Modern English
English
collide
“to crash into one another”
Explore more surprising origins