8 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Drawn \Drawn\, p. p. & a.
See {Draw}, v. t. & i.
{Drawn butter}, butter melter and prepared to be used as a
sort of gravy.
{Drawn fowl}, an eviscerated fowl.
{Drawn game} or {battle}, one in which neither party wins;
one equally contested.
{Drawn fox}, one driven from cover. --Shak.
{Drawn work}, ornamental work made by drawing out threads
from fine cloth, and uniting the cross threads, to form a
pattern.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, a.
Fertile. See {Battel}, a. [Obs.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle,
OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the
fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators,
fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. {Battalia}, 1st {Battel},
and see {Batter}, v. t. ]
1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the
divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement;
a combat.
2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.
The whole intellectual battle that had at its center
the best poem of the best poet of that day. --H.
Morley.
3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.]
The king divided his army into three battles.
--Bacon.
The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the
battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every
action. --Robertson.
4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear;
battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward.
Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a
self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a ``brand''
or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield;
battle ground; battlearray; battle song.
{Battle piece}, a painting, or a musical composition,
representing a battle.
{Battle royal}.
(a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that
stands longest is the victor. --Grose.
(b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two
are engaged; a m[^e]l['e]e. --Thackeray.
{Drawn battle}, one in which neither party gains the victory.
{To give battle}, to attack an enemy.
{To join battle}, to meet the attack; to engage in battle.
{Pitched battle}, one in which the armies are previously
drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the
forces.
{Wager of battle}. See under {Wager}, n.
Syn: Conflict; encounter; contest; action.
Usage: {Battle}, {Combat}, {Fight}, {Engagement}. These words
agree in denoting a close encounter between contending
parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the
others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied
to the encounter of a few individuals, and more
commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A
combat is a close encounter, whether between few or
many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is
commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement
supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or
intermingled in the conflict.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\ (b[a^]t"t'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Battled}
(-tl'd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Battling}.] [F. batailler, fr.
bataille. See {Battle}, n.]
To join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over
theories.
To meet in arms, and battle in the plain. --Prior.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Battle \Bat"tle\, v. t.
To assail in battle; to fight.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
battle
n 1: a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course
of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of
Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when
he got into a real engagement" [syn: {conflict}, {fight},
{engagement}]
2: an energetic attempt to achieve something; "getting through
the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for
recognition" [syn: {struggle}]
3: an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals);
"the harder the conflict the more glorious the
triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the
battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs" [syn: {conflict},
{struggle}]
v : battle or contend against in or as if in a battle; "The
Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Nothern Iraq"; "We
must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they
battled over the budget" [syn: {combat}]
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
BATTLE, n. A method of untying with the teeth of a political knot
that would not yield to the tongue.
From eng-fra [engfra]:
battle
[bætl]
bataille, combat