▪ I. fight, n.
(faɪt)
Forms: α. 1 feoht(e, 2–3 fiht(e, 3 fæht(e, fahte, feht(e, south. veht, feiht, (feoht, fith, fiþt, fyȝte), 3–5 fiȝt(e, south. 3 vihte, 4 vi(y)ȝt, (4 feȝt, ficht, fyhte, south. vyhte, fyth), 4–5 fyght, (5 feght, feyghte, fighte), 5–6, 9 Sc. fecht, 8 Sc. (faught), 9 dial. feight, 3, 5– fight. β. 1 ᵹefeoht, 2–3 ifiht.
[f. next vb.; OE. had three words, feohte wk. fem., feoht and ᵹefeoht str. neut. Cf. OFris. fiuchte wk. fem., OS. and OHG. fehta str. fem. (MHG. vehte fem.); also Du. gevecht, OHG. gifeht (MHG. geveht, mod.Ger. gefecht) str. neut.]
1. a. The action of fighting. Now only arch. in phrase (valiant, etc.) in fight. † in fight: engaged in battle.
| Beowulf 959 (Gr.) We þæt ellenweorc..feohtan fremedon. c 1000 Ags. Ps. cxliii[i]. 1 God..tæceþ handa mine to feohte. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 151 Beoð stronge on fihte. c 1205 Lay. 23208 To-gædre heo fusden and veht heo bigunnen. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 275 He watz famed for fre þat feȝt loued best. 1340 Ayenb. 219 Moyses ouercom amalec..naȝt be uiȝt: ac be his holy biddinges. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxii, For Fraunse haue ȝe frely with ȝaure fiȝte wonne. 1513 Douglas æneis x. vi. 76 Thar syre that..companȝeon was in fecht To Hercules. 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 296 The Erle of Warwick after long fight, wisely did perceiue his men to be ouerpressed. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 114 The god of fight. 1666 Evelyn Mem. (1857) ii. 5 The Duke of Albemarle was still in fight. 1680 Morden Geog. Rect. (1685) 88 No River..affordeth more..sufficiency for Fight. 1859 Tennyson Enid 223 So that I be not fall'n in fight. |
b. In obvious phrases: † to fang, † take (the) fight, to give fight, to make (a) fight.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5515 (Cott.) If þai tak agains vs fight. c 1450 Golagros & Gaw. 762 Of thair strife sa strang, The feght so fellely thai fang. 1831 Examiner 89/1 Suppose they..should make fight upon the occasion. 1833 Marryat P. Simple x, They..had resolved to ‘give fight’. 1847 ― Childr. N. Forest xx, We will make a fight for it. 1884 Times 5 Mar. 5/2 Apparently..he made a great fight. |
† c. Method of fighting. Obs.
| 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 89 After the maner of the fight of that time. 1613 Hayward William I 77 After⁓ward the English, being trained to that fight [i.e. the practice of archery] did thereby chiefly maintaine themselues with honourable aduantage against all nations. |
2. A combat, battle. a. A hostile encounter or engagement between opposing forces; = battle 1. Now arch. or rhetorical.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. ix. §1 Þæt..ᵹefeoht betuh Cretense & Atheniense þam folcum. c 1205 Lay. 18693 Alle þa seouen nihte ilaste þat selliche feoht. c 1310 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 190 Sire Jakes ascapede..Out of the fyhte..in wel muchele drede. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iii. 58 Thou hast talk'd..Of..all the current of a headdy fight. 1600 Holland Livy ix. 327 The conflicts and fights at sea, in the first Punick warre. a 1671 Ld. Fairfax Mem. (1699) 68 This was the issue of Hornsby Fight. 1789 Cowper Ann. Mem. 1789, 23 Siege after siege, fight after fight. 1821 Shelley Hellas 474 The sea-convulsing fight. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington 96 He that gain'd a hundred fights. |
b. A combat between two or more persons or animals. Not now usually applied (exc. rhetorically) to a formal duel, but suggesting primarily either the notion of a brawl or unpremeditated encounter, or that of a pugilistic combat.
| c 1300 Havelok 2668 So was bi-twenen hem a fiht Fro þe morwen ner to þe niht. a 1400 Octouian 1093 The Sarsyns cryde..To hare God Mahone To help her geaunt in that fyght. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. v. 90 As you and Lord æneas Consent vpon the order of their fight. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. i. 84 The ancient Errant Knights Won all their Ladies' Hearts in Fights. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock v. 77 Nor fear'd the Chief th' unequal fight to try, Who sought no more than on his foe to die. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam i. viii. 4 An Eagle and a Serpent wreathed in fight. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 174 You hear..faint far-aff echoes o' fechts wi' watchmen. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports §4077 (1852) 1229 New rules of the ring..adopted after a fatal fight between [etc.]. |
c. With various qualifying attributes. running fight: a fight kept up while one party flees and the other pursues. sham fight: a mimic battle (intended to exercise or test the troops engaged, or simply for display). † single fight: a duel. stand-up fight: one in which the combatants ‘stand up’ manfully to each other.
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. i. 100, I..will..Try fortune with him, in a Single Fight. 1697 Dryden æneid viii. 751 Herilus in single Fight I slew. 1727 in Bailey vol. II. s.v. Fights, Running Fights [at Sea]. 1876 Green Short Hist. vii. §4. 411 The running fight between the two fleets lasted throughout the week. 1884 Pall Mall G. 9 July 1/1 We can all understand a stand-up fight on a clear issue. 1890 Spectator 20 Sept. 362/2 The sham fight near Grosswardein in Hungary. |
d. fight-off, a contest to decide a tie in a fencing match.
| 1930 Morning Post 14 July 15 In the fight-off, Armstrong worried at his enemy's arm with an incessant attack. 1961 Times 9 June 5/3 He then only tied for top place, and in the fight-off Howard..won 5–0. |
e. fight-back, a retaliation, rally, or recovery (see also quot. 1961). colloq.
| 1953 Quick 9 Mar. 16 Butter producers mapped a ‘fight back’ against substitutes which have made inroads into the butter market. 1960 J. Fingleton Four Chukkas to Australia v. 153 The great fight-back..the Englishmen made. 1961 New Scientist 17 Aug. 397/1 ‘Fight-back’,..referring to the way in which the cheese pushes back against your thumb when the pressure is released. |
3. fig. Strife, conflict, struggle for victory; = battle 7.
| c 1000 Bi Manna Mode 66 (Gr.) Wearð seo feohte to grim. a 1225 Ancr. R. 162 Ure Louerd sulf stont þer bi þe uihte. a 1300 Cursor M. 20114 (Gött.) Loued scho nouþer fith na striue. 1340 Ayenb. 131 A ueld of uiyȝt huerinne him behoueþ eure to libbe. 1526–34 Tindale 1 Tim. vi. 12 Fyght the good fyght of fayth. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 30 Well hast thou fought The better fight. 1794 Burns Contented wi' little 6 Man is a sodger, and life is a faught. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam v. ii. 7 What secret fight Evil and good..Waged thro' that silent throng. |
4. Power, strength or inclination for fighting; pugnacity. Also in to show fight.
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 138 Which ultimately took the fight out of him. 1863 H. Kingsley A. Elliot I. xv. 188 Until—something or another happens to make little Eleanor show fight. 1886 M{supc}Carthy & Praed Right Hon. I. vii. 120 Their country had fight enough in her yet. 1892 G. Hake Mem. 80 Years lxiv. 272 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a man of fight. |
† 5. a. A kind of screen used during a naval engagement to conceal and protect the crew of the vessel. Usually in pl. Obs. See also close-fight.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 142 Clap on more sailes, pursue: vp with your fights Giue fire. 1631 Heywood Fair Maid of West iv. Wks. 1874 II. 316 Then now up with your fights. 1673 Dryden Amboyna iii. iii. Song, Up with your Fights and your Nettings prepare. 1678 Phillips, Fightts in Navigation, are the Waste- [printed Mast-] clothes which hang round about the Ship, to hinder men from being seen in fight, or any place wherein men may cover themselves and yet use their Arms. 1721–1800 in Bailey. |
† b. foremost fight (nonce-use): a breastwork on a rampart; = forefight, L. propugnaculum.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xii. 271 They fiercely set vpon..The Parrapets..ras't euerie formost fight..The Greeks yet stood, and stil repaird the forefights of their wall. |
† 6. A division of an army in battle array. Cf. battle n. 8. Obs.
| 1622 Drayton Poly. olb. xxii. 221 The King into three fights his forces doth divide. |
7. Comb., as in † fight-field, fight-time. Also † fight-rac't (? = -racked) a., overthrown in battle; † fight-wite, a fine for taking part in a disturbance.
| 1611 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. iv. Decay 931 Till one winding Cave Become the *Fight-Field of two Armies brave. |
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad iv. 490 His fall was like a *fight-rac't towre. |
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 6267 Þat our fos with no faulshed in þe *fyght tyme, Sese not our Cité. |
| c 900 Laws Edw. & Guth. xiii, Þæt *fyht-wite. c 1250 Gloss. Law Terms in Rel. Ant. I. 33 Ficthwite, quite de medlée de lamerci. |
▪ II. fight, v.
(faɪt)
pa. tense and pa. pple. fought (fɔːt). Forms: Infin. 1 feohtan, fehtan north. fehta, 3 fehten, south. vehten, (3 feahten, fahten, fuhten), 3–5 feȝt(e, (4 fett), 3–6 feghte, 4–8 Sc. fecht; 2–3 feihten, (4 feyȝtte), 5–6 feyght(yn, (5 fayȝte, 6 Sc. feicht), 6, 9 dial. feight; 2–3 fihten, Orm. fihhtenn, 3–5 fiȝte(n, fite(n, 4 south. viȝte, (4 fiȝhte, fyþt), 4–5 fighte(n, 4–6 fyghte, 9 dial. foight, fught, 3– fight. pa. tense 1 feaht, fæht, pl. fuhton, (2 feight, 3 faht, fæht, feaht, feht, feoht, feuht, fuht), 3–5 faȝt(e, -ght(e, 3 south. vagt, (3 fachte, fagt, faþt), 3–5 foȝte, (5 foghte, fughte), (3 fougte, 4 fouhte, 6 fouȝte, foughted, fowght, 9 fout), 3–5 fauȝte, -ghte, (4 fauht, -th, fawght, 5 faughth, fawte, 6 faucht), (5 fet, 8–9 dial. or vulgar fit), 6– fought. pa. pple. 1 fohten, 3–6 foghten, (3 fughten), 4 fouȝten, (fooȝte, fouȝte), 5–9 arch. foughten, (4 -yn, 6 fochin, 6 fowth, 6– fought), 7–9 dial. or vulgar fit, fitten.
[A Com. WGer. strong vb.: OE. feohtan = OFris. fiuchta, OS. *fehtan (not recorded, but cf. the n. fehta; Du. vechten), OHG. fehtan (MHG. vehten, mod.Ger. fechten):—OTeut. type *fehtan (faht, fuhtum, fohtono-).
The conjugation of this vb. is peculiar, because in all the other vbs. that have the u- and o- grades these are caused by the presence of a liquid or nasal; possibly the forms have been influenced by the analogy of flehtan to plait. Outside Teutonic the formal equivalent is L. pectĕre to comb, though the difference in sense causes some difficulty; see Brugmann Grundriss II. §680.]
1. a. intr. To contend in battle or single combat.
| c 900 Pol. Laws Alfred vii, Be ðon ðe mon on cynges healle feohte. a 1000 Riddles vii. 5 (Gr.) Mec min frea feohtan hateð. c 1205 Lay. 3939 Heo bi-gunnen to fuhten. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3227 He ne moȝen fiȝten a-ȝen, for [he] wiðvten wopen ben. a 1300 Cursor M. 5666 (Cott.) Feghtand fand he Iuus tua. 1352 Minot Poems v. 78 Sir Edward, oure gude king..Faght wele on þat flude. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas viii. xxix. (1554) 194 b, Howe King Arthur..Fet with his knightes, and liueth in Fayrie. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xii. 291 Yf we fyghte strongly, he is deed wythout remedy. 15.. Sir A. Barton in Surtees Misc. (1890) 73 Feight till ye heare my whisstill blowe. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. iv. 151 We rose both at an instant and fought a long houre by Shrewsburie clocke. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. iii. (1632) 7 Captaine Bayart..having stoutly foughten so long as he could stand. 1700 Congreve Way of World iii. x, I thought once they wou'd have fit. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xii. 263, I..resolved to die fighting to the last gasp. 1869 Blackmore Lorna D. ii, Not that I was afraid of fighting..I had..foughten all that time. |
b. Const. against, † on or † upon, with (a person); hence, to fight together.
| O.E. Chron. an. 514 Stuf & Wihtgar fuhtun wiþ Brettas. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xiv. 31 Oððe ᵹyf hwylc cynincg wyle faran & feohtan aᵹen oðerne cyning. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Þe King constantinus ouer com al þet folc þe feiht to ȝeines him. c 1200 Ormin 1842 He shollde fihhtenn Onnȝæn an drake. a 1300 Cursor M. 6405 (Cott.) A lauerding hight amalec, þat on þam faght, and þai on him. c 1340 Ibid. 7462 (Trin.) Ouþer sende he to me hider A mon þat we may fiȝte to gider. a 1400 Burgh Laws xii. (Sc. Stat. I), He may nocht fecht apon þe burges. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. 6 Ther thei faughthe strongly togedere. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. xii. 13 The kynges aboute vs haue foughten agaynst vs. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xvii. 10 Giue me a man, that we may fight together. 1678 Lady Chaworth in Hist. MSS. Comm. 12th Rep. App. v. 48 Some of [the King of France'] ships have fought with some Dutch ones. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. (1841) I. iv. 86 It may be your mother may fight with you. 1804 R. Anderson Cumbrld. Ball. 83 What..a lickin Tou gat when tou fit wi' Tom Wheyte. |
c. Const. for = on behalf of (a person, etc.); on account of (a thing); hence in indirect passive.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15735 (Cott.) Al redi for to fight, On him he su'd ha foghten fore. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1034 He fauȝt for ingland. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xlix. 220 (Harl. MS.), I wolle Fite for hir. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. lv. 19 Angels, whome wee know to feyght in battellray for us. 1672–3 Marvell Reh. Transp. Wks. II. 212, I think the cause was too good to have been fought for. 1782 Wolcot in J. J. Rogers Opie (1878) 22 He..is ready to fight up to his knees in blood for her Majesty. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr Hist. Servia xx. 364 The principle of emancipating the Christian population, for which the Servians fought. |
d. Proverb.
| ? a 1300 Salomon & Sat. (1848) 272 Wel fyþt þat wel flyþ quoþ Hendyng. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lvii. 420 (Add. MS.) It is an olde sawe, He feghtith wele that fleith faste. |
e. To bring or get (oneself) into, out of, to (a certain condition, etc.) by fighting.
| 1640 Lawfulness Expedit. Eng. 3 We must doe as a man that fighteth himselfe out of prison. 1643 S. Marshall Let. 26 So many unworthy Gentlemen..fight themselves and posterity into slavery. 1873 Sat. Rev. 10 May 630/2 His sentence is to fight himself to death with trained gladiators in the amphitheatre. |
f. Phrases. to fight with one's own shadow: to struggle vainly; to talk at random. Cf. Gr. σκιαµαχεῖν. For to fight at sharp, to fight (for) one's own hand(s), to fight one's heart out, to fight the tiger, to fight tooth and nail: see hand, heart, sharp, tiger, tooth. For that cock won't fight: see cock n.1 2 c.
| 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 377 In which argument he fighteth with his owne shadowe. |
2. transf. and fig. a. To contend, strive for victory, struggle, engage in conflict. Const. as in 1. Of an animal: to struggle for freedom or mastery. Also trans., to strive with (a horse, etc.) for mastery. U.S.
| a 1000 Sal. & Sat. 499 (Gr.) Þonne feohteð se feond. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 151 Fihteð wið þe alde neddre. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 137 Þe flesliche lustes þe fihteð togenes þe soule. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xviii. 5 His body in þe whilke he faght wiþ þe fend. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxii. 65 To fighten and fenden ous fro fallyng in-to synne. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour D iij, Alwey fyghtynge ageynst the fire of lecherye. 1582 Bentley Mon. Matrones ii. 17 Against whome for my sake thou foughtedst so sore on the crosse. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. ix. 26 So fight I, not as one that beateth the ayre. 1645 E. Calamy Indictm. agst. Eng. 9 Men that fight against a Reformation. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 305 For Modes of Faith let graceless zealots fight. 1850 ‘H. Hieover’ Pract. Horsemanship 179 If you find he at all fights against you..stand now on no ceremony with him. 1855 Tennyson Maud iii. vi. 57 It is better to fight for the good than to rail at the ill. 1875 J. C. Wilcocks Sea Fisherman 163 These larger fish fight well, sometimes requiring five or six minutes to kill them. 1908 C. E. Mulford Orphan i. 13 He mounted and fought the animal for a few minutes, just as he always had to fight it. 1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas 231, I ‘fought’ cattle for nine years almost night and day. |
b. to fight up against: to struggle against (something of overwhelming power).
| 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 54 (Sword) The Marquis..had fought up against his condition with great firmness. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. (1847) II. 142 I soon felt that human nature itself fought up against this wilful resignation of intellect. 1838 Lytton Alice vii. v, Lumley fought up against his own sensations. |
c. To clash or jar with. rare.
| a 1624 Swinburne Sponsals (1686) 8 This distinction fighteth with the former definition of Spousals. 1645 Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 81 It cannot be meant of Christ personally, for so it should fight with the scope of Paul. 1876 C. M. Yonge Womankind xv. 116 One of those tints that ‘fight’ with the fewest colours. |
† d. To operate as an argument, ‘militate.’
| 1587 Golding De Mornay xiv. 213 All the reasons which thou alledgest against the immortalitie of the soule, doe feight directly to the proofe of it. |
3. a. quasi-trans. with cognate object. Also † to fight it.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17090 (Cott.) Hu he again ur wyþerwin, ur bateil tok to fight. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxxi. 45 There was a sore batayle, and well foughten hande to hande. 1526–34 Tindale 1 Tim. vi. 12 Fyght the good fyght of fayth. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. iii. 220, I shall neuer be able to fight a blow. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] tr. Ivstin 68 a, Their was a field fought betweene the fugetiue senators and himselfe. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 766 His wanton Kids..Fight harmless Battels in his homely Yard. 1769 Goldsmith Roman History (1786) II. 498 The senate dispatched their ambassadors to Alaric, desiring him..to give them leave to fight it with him in the open field. 1776 Hurst in Trial of Nundocomar 64/1 The battle of Buzar was fought the 23d of October. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell vi. ix. 5 I've half a mind to fight a duel. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxvii, A severe action was fought in the streets. |
b. To maintain (a cause, quarrel) by fighting. Often transf., to fight an action (at law), fight a case, etc.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iv. 49, I haue had foure quarrels and like to haue fought one. 1713 Addison Cato i. i, He fights the cause Of honor, virute, liberty, and Rome. 1784 R. Bage Barham D. I. 239 We fought this business four whole days. 1868 Yates Rock Ahead iii. v, Gilbert Lloyd saw that there was no use fighting the question any longer. 1893 Law Times XCIV. 559 1 If I had had my way, I would have fought every one of these actions. |
c. To win or make (one's way) by fighting.
| 1859 Tennyson Enid 870, I will not fight my way with gilded arms. All shall be iron. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iv. (1889) 36 No one knew whether a boy..would have to fight his own way in the world. |
4. a. trans. To combat; to engage or oppose in battle; to war against.
| 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 655 To fight the Phrygian and Ausonian hosts. 1794 Southey Botany-Bay Ecl. ii, 'Tis a fine thing to fight the French for fame! 1859 Tennyson Enid 221 Then will I fight him and will break his pride. |
b. transf. and fig. to fight fire: cf. fire n. B. 2.
| 1784 Cowper Task iii. 560 The shifts Which he that fights a season so severe Devises. [1824 W. Owen Diary (1906) 83 Then they fight it [sc. a fire]..endeavouring to overcome it by striking it with clap-boards.] 1835 J. Abbott New Eng. & Institutions 21 For days and nights together, all the physical force of the village has been arrayed in ‘fighting the fire’. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cxiv. 10 She cannot fight the fear of death. 1852 M. Arnold Tristr. & Iseult xiv, Some ship that fights the gale. 1860 Leisure Hour 1 Nov. 690/2 Fight fire, fight water, fight Farmer Jackson, wagoner and mate. 1865 Chambers's Jrnl. 29 July 470/1 They took away from the local firemen their apparatus, and proceeded in their own way to ‘fight fire’. 1944 J. S. Huxley On Living in Rev. ii. 22 There are today thousands who, though they may sometimes grumble, at heart have enjoyed fighting fires or acting as wardens. |
c. To beat, flog. Chiefly absol. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. lxxvii. (1878) 169 A wand in thy hand, though ye fight not at all, makes youth to their businesse better to fall. 1875 Sussex Gloss., ‘I wants more learning and less fighting.’ 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss., ‘I sha'n't let our Bob go to school no more, master feights bairns.’ |
5. To contend in single combat for (a prize).
| 1826 Scott Woodst. xiv, I..have fought prizes. 1835 Browning Paracelsus iv. 119 While we fight the prize, Troop you in safety to the snug back-seats. |
6. To cause to fight; to set on to fight.
| c 1680 Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 528 The Prince of Poets.. never fights his Champion Achilles, till he has first buckled on him his Armour of Proof. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xvi, The nobles and gentry had fought cocks. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. iv, Rubbish was shot, dogs were fought. |
7. To command, manage, or manœuvre (troops, a ship, gun, etc.) in battle.
| 1779 Burgoyne Let. to Constituents (ed. 3) 15 My intention of fighting my own regiment as colonel. 1812 J. B. Skerrett in Examiner 28 Sept. 615/1 Gallantly fighting his gun. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 216 He fights his vessel well. 1862 Gen. Lee in Century Mag. May (1887) 150/1 General A. P. Hill..fights his troops well. |
8. With adverbs. to fight back: to resist. to fight down: to overcome. to fight off (a) trans. to deliver oneself with effort from; to repel, lit. and fig.; (b) intr. to try to back out of anything. † to fight over: to fight one after another. to fight out: to settle (a dispute) by fighting, to fight to the end; often to fight it out.
| 1548 W. Patten in Arber Garner III. 109 If they had meant to fight it out. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. iii. 102 That true hand that fought Romes quarrell out. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 103 But one feend at a time Ile fight their Legions ore. a 1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 99 It is better to yield to providence, than to fight it out. 1787 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 49 You perceive the manner in which Anderson fights off. 1800 Dundas in Owen Wellesley's Desp. 556, I must therefore fight it down. 1810 Bentham Packing (1821) 51 After fighting off till judgment. 1831 Examiner 193/2 Stand to, and fight it out without fear. 1833 T. Hook Widow & Marquess (1842) 242 Fight off the wedding, if you please: be ill—make any excuse. 1886 Law Times' Rep. LV. 283/1 The issues which are not fought out. 1890 John Bull 5 Apr. 229/2 These people were fighting back the diseases manfully. |
9. to fight shy: perh. orig. to lose confidence in battle; recorded only in the sense: To keep aloof, avoid intercourse with a person, evade an undertaking, etc. Const. of. Similarly in 15th c. to fight sore at heart.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 125 He knewe well he sayd trouth and beganne to fyghte sore atte his herte. 1778 F. Burney Diary Nov., I fight very shy with Mr. Seward, and..he takes the hint. 1786 Mackenzie Lounger No. 98 ¶2, I fought a little shy, as the saying is. 1821 W. Irving Life & Lett. (1864) II. 44, I have..had to fight shy of invitations that would exhaust time and spirits. 1867 Froude Short Stud. (ed. 2) 138 The better sort of people fight shy of him. |