combat

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Combated; p. pr. & vb. n. Combating. ] [ F. combattre; pref. com- + battre to beat, fr. L. battuere to strike. See Batter. ] To struggle or contend, as with an opposing force; to fight. [ 1913 Webster ]

To combat with a blind man I disdain. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

After the fall of the republic, the Romans combated only for the choice of masters. Gibbon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. combat. ] 1. A fight; a contest of violence; a struggle for supremacy. [ 1913 Webster ]

My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The noble combat that 'twixt joy and sorrow was fought in Paulina. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) An engagement of no great magnitude; or one in which the parties engaged are not armies. [ 1913 Webster ]

Single combat, one in which a single combatant meets a single opponent, as in the case of David and Goliath; also, a duel.

Syn. -- A battle; engagement; conflict; contest; contention; struggle; fight, strife. See Battle, Contest. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. combattable. ] Such as can be, or is liable to be, combated; as, combatable foes, evils, or arguments. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. combattant. ] One who engages in combat. IN military use, opposed to noncombatant. “The mighty combatants.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

A controversy which long survived the original combatants. Macaulay [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. combattant, p. pr. ] Contending; disposed to contend. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who combats. Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Disposed to engage in combat; pugnacious. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The quality of being combative; propensity to contend or to quarrel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Phren.) A cranial development supposed to indicate a combative disposition. [ 1913 Webster ]