battle English · revision 3141

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1250, The Owl and the Nightingale|origins=la battuere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈbæt.əl/, US /ˈbæt̬.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bataille]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|bataille|t=battle, single combat; army, body of soldiers]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-lat|battālia|t=battle]],^(Barnhart 1988) a variant of battuālia “exercises of soldiers and gladiators in fighting and fencing”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|battuere|t=to beat, strike]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which Merriam-Webster thinks is of Celtic origin.^(MWU 2024) The verb is from Old French bataillier, from the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Latin battuere also gave [[battalion]], [[batter]], [[battery]] and [[combat]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A single combat, especially to settle an issue: before 1250, in ''The Owl and the Nightingale'';^(Barnhart 1988) a fight between armies is from 1297 in the OED,^(OED 1989) or about 1300.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old French and early English the word also meant the army itself, or its main body, as distinct from the van and rear:^(Etymonline)^(Trench 1859) Shakespeare writes “each battle sees the other's umbered face”.^(Trench 1859) Figurative strife or struggle is from about 1375.^(OED 1989) The verb, “to fight”, is from the early 14th century^(Etymonline) (1330 in the OED),^(OED 1989) and figurative use, “to contend”, from 1502.^(OED 1989) ''Trial by battle'' was a legal single combat.^(OED 1989) ''Battle royal'', a fight among several combatants, is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Battleship'' is from 1705,^(Barnhart 1988) ''battlefield'' and ''battle-cry'' from 1812,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''battle-scarred'' from 1848.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1250 – single combat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1297 – a fight between armies.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1330 – verb, to fight.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1375 – strife, struggle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1670s – ''battle royal''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1705 – ''battleship''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – ''battlefield'', ''battle-cry''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fight between opposing armed forces.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Armed fighting; [[combat]] or [[warfare]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A fight or contest between two people or sides.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A long [[struggle]] or controversy: ''a battle against illness''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fight; to engage in battle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To struggle or contend with determination.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[battler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[battlement]]

+ * [[embattle]]

+ * [[battalion]]

+ * [[batter]]

+ * [[battery]]

+ * [[combat]]

+ * [[debate]]

+ * [[abate]]

+ * [[battlefield]]

+ * [[battleship]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Several other words spelled ''battle'' survive only in archaic or dialect use: a verb “to fortify with battlements” (about 1340),^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) an adjective “nourishing, fertile”, of pasture and soil (1513),^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) and a verb “to beat (clothes)”, a frequentative of [[bat]].^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}