The word 'valor' entered English in the late Middle English period, borrowed from Anglo-Norman French valour, which itself descended from Latin valor (meaning 'worth, value, strength'). This Latin noun was derived from the verb valēre, meaning 'to be strong, be well, be of worth'. The core semantic concept of strength and worth, particularly in a moral and physical sense, traveled through these languages. Over time, in the chivalric and military context of medieval Europe, the meaning specialized to denote the specific quality of strength and courage displayed by a warrior in the face of danger, solidifying its modern abstract sense of heroic bravery.

Structure: val (strong, worthy) + or (noun suffix denoting state or condition) 'val' originates from Latin valēre (to be strong, be well). 'or' is a Latin-derived suffix forming nouns denoting a state or condition.