fight

English Online Dictionary. What means fight‎? What does fight mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English fighten, from Old English feohtan (“to fight, combat, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to comb, tease, shear, struggle with”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to comb, shear”).

Cognate with Scots fecht (“to fight”), West Frisian fjochtsje, fjuchte (“to fight”), Dutch vechten (“to fight”), Low German fechten (“to fight”), German fechten (“to fight, fence”), Swedish fäkta (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons), to wave vigorously (and carelessly) with one's arms”), Latin pectō (“comb, thrash”, verb), Albanian pjek (“to hit, strive, fight”), Ancient Greek πέκω (pékō, “comb or card wool”, verb). Related also to Old English feht (“wool, shaggy pelt, fleece”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: fīt, IPA^(key): /faɪt/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [fʌɪt]
• Rhymes: -aɪt

Verb

fight (third-person singular simple present fights, present participle fighting, simple past fought, past participle fought or (archaic) foughten)

1. Senses relating to physical conflict:
   1. (transitive) To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.

   2. (transitive) To conduct or engage in (battle, warfare, a cause, etc.).
   3. (intransitive) To contend in physical conflict, either singly or in war, battle etc.

   4. (reciprocal) To contend in physical conflict with each other, either singly or in war, battle etc.

   5. (causative) To cause to fight; to manage or manoeuvre in a fight.

2. (intransitive) To strive for something; to campaign or contend for success.
3. (transitive) To try to overpower; to fiercely counteract.
4. (intransitive) Of colours or other design elements: to clash; to fail to harmonize.

Usage notes

• The reciprocal sense of "fight" is a common elision of the phrase "fight each other", since context provides the meaning. "Each other" is commonly used with other verbs for an explicit reciprocal sense.
• The reciprocal sense of "fight", which refers to two entities fighting each other, contrasts with the reflexive sense of the word "infight", which refers to entities of a group fighting each other.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fight

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: feti

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fight, feyght, fiȝt, fecht, from Old English feoht, ġefeoht, from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *fehtą, *gafehtą (“fight, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to struggle with”). Cognate with Dutch gevecht, German Gefecht.

Noun

fight (countable and uncountable, plural fights)

1. An occasion of fighting.

2. (archaic) A battle between opposing armies.
3. A physical confrontation or combat between two or more people or groups.

4. (sports) A boxing or martial arts match.

5. A conflict, possibly nonphysical, with opposing ideas or forces; strife.
6. (uncountable) The will or ability to fight.

7. (obsolete) A screen for the combatants in ships; an arming.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fight

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: feti
  • → Dutch: fittie
• → Japanese: ファイト (faito)

Translations

Swedish

Alternative forms

• fajt

Etymology

Borrowed from English fight. Attested since 1931.

Noun

fight c

1. (colloquial) a fight (often in sports or of an argument)

Declension

Related terms

• fightas

References

• fight in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• fight in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)