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combat

Etymology and origin of the English word combat

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1543
Borrowed from
Middle French combattre
Ultimate origin
Latin (battuere)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun UK /ˈkɒm.bæt/, US /ˈkɑːm.bæt/; verb UK /ˈkɒm.bæt/, US /kəmˈbæt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French combattre (“to fight”),[2][3][4] the noun from French combat, from the verb,[5][2][3] from Old French combatre (12th century),[5][6] from Late Latin combattere,[5][2][4] from Latin com “with each other” and battuere “to beat, fight”,[5][2][3] the source of batter and battle.[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, to fight, originally especially in single combat: 1543 in the OED,[8] 1564 in Merriam-Webster and Barnhart, in Hakluyt's Voyages,[3][2] the 1560s in Etymonline.[5] The noun, a fight between two armed persons: 1546 in Merriam-Webster,[3] 1567 in the OED and Barnhart.[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The noun was first especially a fight between two armed persons, later called single combat (1620s),[5][8] and in a general sense any fight between opposing forces from 1583,[8] or figuratively a struggle or controversy from 1567.[8] The transitive verb, to fight with, is from 1590,[8] the 1580s in Etymonline,[5] and figuratively to oppose or struggle against, now the most frequent use, from 1627.[8][5] The attributive use, as in combat zone or combat boots, is now frequent, especially in the United States.[8] Combatant is from 1489, in Caxton,[2] and combative from before 1834, in a letter of Charles Lamb.[2]

Timeline

  • 1543 – verb, to fight.[8]
  • 1546 – noun, a fight.[3]
  • 1583 – a fight between forces.[8]
  • 1590 – verb, to fight with.[8]
  • 1620s – single combat.[5]
  • 1627 – verb, to oppose figuratively.[8]
  • 1834 – combative.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Fighting, especially between armed forces: killed in combat.
  2. A fight or struggle.

Verb

  1. To fight against; to oppose in battle.
  2. To try to stop or reduce something: combat crime.
  3. To fight or struggle.

Word family

  • combatable
  • combatant
  • combative
  • combat-ready
  • intercombat
  • noncombat
  • precombat
  • combat boot

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Combat.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/combat. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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