armistice

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2024 is: armistice \AHR-muh-stus\ noun An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting a war, or in other words, a [truce](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truce). // Both sides in the conflict agreed to an armistice. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/armistice) Examples: "The year is 1918, and the armistice is just around the corner, but no one on the front line can possibly know that yet." — Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2024 Did you know? Armistice comes from the New Latin word armistitium, which in turn combines a stem of the Latin verb sistere, meaning "to make stand, halt, bring to a standstill," with arma, meaning "implements of war, weapons." An armistice, therefore, is literally a cessation of arms. [Armistice Day](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Armistice-Day) is the name that was given to the holiday celebrated in the United States on November 11 before it was renamed [Veterans Day]( https://www.britannica.com/topic/Veterans-Day) by Congress in 1954. The original name refers to the agreement between the [Allied](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allied) Powers and Germany to end the hostilities that constituted the First World War—an agreement designated to take effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.