English
fight
Fight comes from Middle English fighten ‘to fight’, from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną ‘to comb, tease, shear, struggle with’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘to comb’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehtaną‘to comb’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fehtan‘to fight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feohtan‘to fight’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fighten‘to fight’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611fight
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘to comb’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehtaną‘to comb’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fehtan‘to fight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feohtan‘to fight’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fighten‘to fight’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611fight
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I have fought a good fight.”
The story
Related also to Old English feht (‘wool, shaggy pelt, fleece’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘to comb, shear’
fellow, fee, peculiar, fax, feud, cynical, hound, fawn, poodle, cynic, feu, pec, fain, pecuniary, chenille, 26 more
Another origin of fight
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘to pluck, ruffle, tousle, shear’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehtaną‘to struggle with’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehtąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fehtan‘to fight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feoht
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fight‘a duel or brawl’
- Englishtodayfight
Today it means
verb Senses relating to physical conflict: To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / fight