battle

the battle of life

I returned, and saw vnder the Sunne, That the race is not to the swift, nor the battell to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of vnderstanding, nor yet fauour to men of skil; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiastes 9:11:

[T]he whole intellectual battle that had at its centre the best poem of the best poet of that day, and had the English Revolution among issues of the strife, was quickening the energies within young Foe's [i.e., Daniel Defoe's] mind when his age was twenty.

1884, Henry Morley, “Introduction”, in Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: George Routledge and Sons, Limd.; New York, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton and Co., →OCLC, page v:

In truth, Tottenham never really looked like taking all three points and this defeat means they face a battle to reach the knockout stages – with their next home game against PAOK Salonika on 30 November likely to prove decisive.

2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 – 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2019-03-26:

Australian broadcaster Clive James has admitted that he is losing his long-fought battle with leukaemia.

2012 June 21, “Clive James: ‘I’ve Lost My Battle with Cancer’”, in ITV News, archived from the original on 2012-06-21:

A one-on-one competition in rapping or breakdance.

(military) A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.

Thenne kyng Arthur made redy his hooſt in x batails and Nero was redy in the felde afore the caſtel Tarabil with a grete hooſt / & he had x batails with many mo peple than Arthur had […]

[1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum x”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book II (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaf 43, verso; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC, page 86, lines 28–31:

Then King Arthur made ready his host in 10 battles and Nero was ready in the field before the castle Tarabil with a great host / and he had 10 battles with many more people than Arthur had […]

They ſay, that the King diuided his Armie into three Battailes; whereof the Vant-guard onely well ſtrengthened with wings, came to fight.

1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC, page 35:

Already Cæſar
Has ravaged more than half the Globe, and ſees
Mankind grown thin by his deſtructive Sword:
Should he go further, Numbers would be wanting
To form new Battels, and ſupport his Crimes.

1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:

No gentleman would appear in the field but on horſeback. To ſerve in any other manner he would have deemed derogatory to his rank. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called The battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. The infantry, collected from the dregs and refuſe of the people, ill armed and worſe diſciplined; was of no account.

1769, William Robertson, “Section II. View of the Progress of Society in Europe, with Respect to the Command of the National Force Requisite in Foreign Operations.”, in The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. With a View of the Progress of Society in Europe, from the Subversion of the Roman Empire, to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century. In Three Volumes, volume I, London: Printed by W. and W. Strahan, for W[illiam] Strahan; T[homas] Cadell, […]; and J. Balfour, […], →OCLC, page 87:

Once I link up with Lord Bolton and the Freys, I will have more than twelve thousand men. I mean to divide them into three battles and start up the causeway a half-day apart.

2000 November, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; book 3), New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN; Bantam Spectra mass market edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Dell, March 2003, →ISBN, page 634:

(military, now rare) A division of an army; a battalion.

Iohn Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Earle of Surrey,
Shall haue the leading of the Foot and Horſe.
They thus directed, we will fllow ^([sic])
In the maine Battell, whose puiſſance on either ſide
Shall be well-winged with our cheefeſt Horſe:
This, and Saint George to boote.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 203:

hovering aloofe in the fields he suffered Wyat his Van and main Battell (cutting off some of the Reare) to march undisturbed save with one shot, from Knights-Bridge to Charing Chrosse.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The church-history of Britain from the birth of Jesus Christ until the year M.DC.XLVIII, Book VIII, Century XVI, Section I, §36

The artillery, under Waldmann, with whom Herter rode in company, was divided between the vanguard and the “battle,” or main body, which comprised the bulk of the army.

1868, John Foster Kirk, A History of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, volume 3, page 395:

(military, obsolete) The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.

battles (plural)
batail (alternative)
battel (alternative)
battell (alternative)

Father Charles goes down and ends battle

no battle plan survives contact with the enemy

no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy

betejë

general action, fight, or encounter; a combat

պայքար

struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life

batalla

(obsolete) a division of an army; a battalion

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. 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”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.


battle

Scientists always battle over theories.

She has been battling against cancer for years.

Hard work is required from men and machines as I was to experience later when footplating Lambton No 5 on five bogies battling its way up Newtondale.

1979 August, Michael Harris, “A line for all reasons: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway”, in Railway World, page 415:

(intransitive) To join in battle; to contend in fight

She has been battling cancer for years.

(transitive) To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with.

en-verb

battle (third-person singular simple present battles, present participle battling, simple past and past participle battled)

battles (present singular third-person)
battling (participle present)
battled (participle past)
battled (past)
batail (alternative)
battel (alternative)
battell (alternative)

batallar

(intransitive) to join in battle; to contend in fight

batallar

(transitive) to assail in battle; to fight


battle

battle grass    battle pasture

Of grass or pasture: nutritious to cattle or sheep; fattening, nourishing.

battle land    battle soil

(by extension) Of land (originally pastureland) or soil: fertile, fruitful.

en-adj

battle (comparative more battle, superlative most battle)

term-label

(obsolete except British, dialectal, chiefly Northern England, Scotland, agriculture)

more battle (comparative)
most battle (superlative)
battil (alternative)
battill (alternative)
battel (alternative)
baittle (alternative)
bettle (alternative)
batwell (alternative)

From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel (“flourishing”), from Old English *batol (“improving, tending to be good”), from batian (“to get better, improve”) + -ol ( + -le).


battle

To feed or nourish (someone or something).

To Devonſhire or Denſhire land. That is, to pare off the ſurface or top turf thereof, and to lay it upon heaps and burn it; vvhich aſhes are a marvelous improvement to battle barren land, by reaſon of the fixt ſalt vvhich they contain.

1670, J[ohn] R[ay], “Out of Doctour Fullers Worthies of England, such as are Not Entred Already in the Catalogues. [Devonshire.]”, in A Collection of English Proverbs […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] John Hayes, printer to the University, for W. Morden, →OCLC, page 225:

To render (land, soil, etc.) fertile or fruitful.

term-label

(transitive, UK dialectal, chiefly Northern England, Scotland)

battles (present singular third-person)
battling (participle present)
battled (participle past)
battled (past)
battil (alternative)
battill (alternative)
battel (alternative)
baittle (alternative)
bettle (alternative)
batwell (alternative)