tussle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtʌsəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tussillen, a Scottish and northern variant of touselen “to tousle”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a frequentative of -tousen “to pull roughly”.^[2][5][6] It is related to tousle.^[3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pull or push about roughly; to wrestle or scuffle (about 1470).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The intransitive sense “to struggle roughly” dates from 1638.^[7][4][5] The noun appeared in 1629^[7][3][5] but was colloquial and rare in print before the 19th century.^[4] Figurative uses for a sharp contest or dispute date from the mid-19th century.^[7]

Timeline

• about 1470 – to pull about roughly.^[7][3][4]
• 1629 – noun, an assault or scuffle.^[7][3][5]
• 1638 – to struggle, scuffle.^[7][5]
• 1857 – noun, a sharp dispute.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A rough physical struggle; a scuffle.
2. A vigorous contest, argument or struggle.

Verb

1. To struggle or fight roughly; to wrestle or scuffle.

Related words

• tousle
• touse

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press