English
duel
Duel comes from Medieval Latin duellum ‘fight between two men, duel’, and goes back to Old Latin duellum.
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellum‘war, fight’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500same form‘fight between two men, duel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1844duel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduellum‘war, fight’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500same form‘fight between two men, duel’
- Englishearliest quotation 1844duel
Earliest quotation: 1844, –December, In Which I Show Myself to Be a Man of Spirit: “I have often thought since, how different my fate…”
The story
May have entered English through Middle French duel.
Linked words
through Old Latin duellum ‘war, fight’
Today it means
noun Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Latin duellum / duel