battle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A fight between armies or groups of people during a war.

   Thousands of soldiers died in the battle.

2. 2
   noun

   A long, hard struggle to achieve or overcome something.

   She fought a brave battle against cancer.

3. 3
   verb

   To fight or struggle hard against someone or something.

   Firefighters battled the flames all through the night.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Battle entered Middle English through French and ultimately goes back to Latin battuere, “to strike” or “beat.” Battalion, batter, battery, and combat share this root.

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battuō (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Gaulish or Proto-Germanic root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to stab, dig”), related to Old English beado (“battle”); or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary