Etymograph

English

battle

Battle comes from Middle English batel, from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, from Latin battuālia, from battuō ‘to strike’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbattuō‘to strike, hit, beat’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEbattuālia‘fighting and fencing exercises’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbattālia
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bataille
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500batel
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593battle

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbattuō‘to strike, hit, beat’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEbattuālia‘fighting and fencing exercises’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEbattālia
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bataille
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500batel
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1593battle

Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Iohn Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Earle of Surrey, Shall…”

The story

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.uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain. 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’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰh₂- ‘to stab, dig’

bed, fossil, 13 more

through Latin battuō ‘to strike, hit, beat, fight’

combat, battery, bat, batten, 6 more

Another origin of battle

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰed-‘good’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bataz‘good’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*batāną‘to become better, improve’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*batēn‘to become better’uncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150batian‘to get better, improve’uncertain
  6. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150*batol‘improving, tending to be good’uncertain
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*batel‘flourishing’uncertain
  8. Englishtodaybattle

Today it means

noun A contest, a struggle.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin battuō / battle

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