battle

Meanings

Noun

• A contest, a struggle.
• A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.
• A division of an army; a battalion.
• The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.
• battle buddy

Verb

• To join in battle; to contend in fight
• To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with.
• To nourish; feed.
• To render (for example soil) fertile or fruitful

Adjective

• Improving; nutritious; fattening.
• Fertile; fruitful.

Origin

• From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia from Latin battuō ("to strike, hit, beat, fight"), from a Gaulish root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- ("to stab, dig"), or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- ("to hit, strike, beat"). battalia, and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht.
• From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel ("flourishing"), from Old English *batol ("improving, tending to be good"), from batian + -ol (-le).