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▪ I. combat, n.|ˈkɒmbæt, ˈkʌmbæt|
Also 6 coombat, 6–8 combate, 7 cumbat.
[a. F. combat, f. combattre to combat. In early use combate was frequent; cf. debate.]
1. a. An encounter or fight between two armed persons (parties, animals, etc.), a duel; spec. as in trial by combat, a duel allowed by law for the formal decision of a cause or dispute; = battle 2.[Britton (1292) has combattre, but instead of combat, bataille appears: cf. battle 2.] 1567Turberv. Louer to Cupid Poems 48 Then the fiercest fight of all and combat did arise. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 346 A battaile or Combate done and holden in the Kings Palayce at Westminster, betwene one called Garcon Appellaunt, and Sir John Anslye Knight Defendaunt. Ibid. II. 396 The Duke of Norffolk affirmed constantly hys tale to be true, and refused not the Combate. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 43 His cause in combat the next day to try. 1617Minsheu Ductor Ling., Combat in our Common Law is taken for a formall triall of a doubtfull cause or quarrell by the sword or bastons, of two champions. 1677Milton P.L. i. 766 Where Champions bold..Defi'd the best of Panim chivalry To mortal combat. 1827Scott Tales Grandf. Ser. i. xvii. (1841) 57/1 That the difference should be decided by a combat of thirty men of the Clan Chattan, against the same number of the Clan Kay. 1828― F.M. Perth xxi. 1857Buckle Civiliz. vi. 294 Orlando..challenged him to mortal combat.
b. Hence, single combat.
1622Capt. Smith New Eng. Trials Wks. (Arb.) 263 It was also my chance in single combat to take the King of Paspahegh prisoner. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. (1682) 460 margin, A single Combat between a Spanish Earl and a Scottish Traveller. 1711Addison Spect. No. 70 ⁋8 These brave Men had distinguished themselves in the Battle and in single Combat. 1835Thirlwall Greece I. 255 Hyllus.. proposed to decide the quarrel by single combat.
2. gen. A fight between opposing forces; struggle, contest; usually on a smaller scale than a battle. (Used both with and without a and pl.)
[Hart's ed. (1616) of Barbour's Bruce ii. 438 has Giff thai will chace Quyt thaim combat sum dele we sall [MS. reading (Skeat) Quyt thaim torn but sum-dele we sall.]
1583Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 58 In valiant coombat thee Troians sturdye resisted. 1632Lithgow Trav. 61 The Maister resolued to make combate below..to saue vs from small shot. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xlix. 193 Eight hundred Mahometans, men of combat. 1839Thirlwall Greece VII. 363 Alexander had appeared to him, armed for combat. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 437 In a succession of combats the advantage was on the side of the confederates.
3. fig. A conflict; struggle, strife; controversy.
1567Triall Treas. (1850) 18 They haue not..battel and combate Against the cogitations that inwardly spring. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 79 The Noble Combat, that 'twixt Joy and Sorrow was fought in Paulina. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. i. §5. 9 The combate of wits. 1875Jowett Plato V. 33 Is courage only a combat against fear and pain?
4. attrib. and Comb., as combat-field. Now in frequent use, esp. in the U.S., in sense: of or pertaining to the fighting services (as opposed to ‘base’ units, etc.); combat fatigue, a nervous disorder resulting from prolonged or severe battle experience.
1825Hogg Q. Hynde 221 Upon the glorious combat-field. 1939Times 6 Nov. 6/1 The Neutrality Bill..defined ‘combat zones’, from which American ships are barred, to include trade with European neutral countries bordering on the North Sea and the Baltic. Ibid. 6/2 The President's neutrality proclamation..goes much farther in its definition of combat areas than any of them had expected. 1942N.Y. Times 9 Nov. 8/4 General Eisenhower's strong, well-equipped forces include crack combat troops. 1943G. N. Raines et al. in Naval Med. Bull. XLI. 923 (heading) Combat fatigue and war neurosis. Ibid. 933 It has been suggested that the term ‘combat fatigue’ be applied to the uncomplicated syndrome. 1944Ann. Reg. 1943 137 War production included..combat planes. 1945U.S. Army Biennial Rep. 24/1 During the winter, three Italian combat groups entered the line of the Eighth Army. 1966Listener 29 Dec. 949/3 Last January the United States had forty-two combat battalions in Vietnam.
▸ In pl. Chiefly Brit. Army fatigues; (sometimes) spec. = combat trousers n. at Additions.
1991Independent on Sunday 10 Mar. (Sunday Review) 5/2 In other quarters in the police station, there were the standard khaki fatigues of ordinary soldiers and occasionally the desert combats of the Republican Guard. 1995J. Miller Voxpop xiii. 190 You used to get loads of people in pilot jackets and combats and then it completely changed, you wear what you want. 2001Star 6 Jan. 87/3 [He] manages to carry off classic cool by teaming a smart V-neck with some baggy combats.
▸ combat boot n. a rubber-soled boot of hard leather, typically laced and extending above the ankle, originally worn as military issue, but later also as a fashion item.
1944Yank (Amer. ed.) 28 Jan. 17/1 The QMC has developed a new 10-inch *combat boot that is expected to replace the Infantry's shoe-and-legging combination and the special boot now worn by paratroopers. 2001N.Y. Mag 22 Jan. 51/1 The she-wolf has had her moment; even Courtney Love has gotten rid of her combat boots.
▸ combat jacket n. a military issue jacket, esp. one in a camouflage pattern; any of various styles of casual jacket resembling those in military use.
1940N.Y. Times 12 Dec. 51/2 Olive drab woolen wristlets for *combat jackets. 1969I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam iii. 55 We struggled off our beds and into our combat jackets. 1992J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! v. 26 When I knocked back Phyllis's invite to remove my combat jacket her ruthlessly cropped eyebrows arched a millimetre or so.
▸ combat knife n. any of various types of knife that are designed as weapons and sold or marketed as military issue; spec. a dagger-like knife with a long, thin, double-edged blade and a sharply pointed tip.
1942Times 19 Sept. 4/6 The parachute troops are armed with automatic weapons, which may be described generally as..mortars, grenades, bayonets, and *combat knives. 1982People (Nexis) 8 Nov. 101 (caption) The difference between a combat knife and a hunting knife, drawled one expert, ‘is what you stick it in’. 1997Big Issue 9 June 6/2 Also in demand are deadly combat knives, high-powered BB air pistols, ninja grappling hooks and tiny but lethal knives costing just 50p which are disguised as high-quality fountain pens.
▸ combat pants n. orig. and chiefly U.S. = combat trousers n. at Additions.
1944N.Y. Times 9 Oct. 26/3 Let any woman wear..*combat pants and high laced boots..and she will understand why some nurses unconsciously take liberties when they dress up. 1982Washington Post (Nexis) 10 Oct. f1 Cowboy boots, tux-and-jeans, combat pants, windbreakers, punk haircuts, [etc.]. 1998Daily Tel. 18 Nov. 12/5 GQ's pages show the modern young man decked out in scowls and rib-knit pullovers, combat pants, body warmers and tattoos.
▸ combat trousers n. chiefly Brit. a type of loose-fitting trousers, typically made of heavy cotton in black, camouflage, or khaki, with large external pockets halfway down each leg; a pair of these trousers, originally worn as military issue, but later also as a fashion item; cf. cargo pants n. at cargo n.1 Additions.
1947Portland (Oregon) Sunday Tel. 19 Oct. d6/5 (advt.) Textile Products... Shoe pacs; overcoats; *combat trousers; oilskin trousers; gloves; [etc.]. 1951Times 20 Sept. 5/5 The combat trousers are of self-lined gaberdine with zippers and buttons. 1982Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 18 July 19 At Goose Green I was given a spare pair of combat trousers, from a pile of Argentine clothes that had been left in a house. 2001K. Lette Nip 'n' Tuck 30 My niece, devoid of her Doc Marten boots, combat trousers and beanie, had at last allowed her thick golden hair to fall free.
▪ II. combat, v.|ˈkɒmbæt, ˈkʌmbæt, -ˈbæt|
Also 6 combatt, 6–8 -bate.
[ad. F. combatt-re, in OF. cumbat-re (3rd sing. cumbat, combat), a Com. Romanic vb., in Pr. combattre, Sp. combatir, It. combattere:—late L. *combattĕre = *combatuĕre f. com- together, with + battĕre, batuĕre to fight. Cf. abate, debate; the different accentuation of combat is perh. due to association with the n.]
1. intr. To fight or do battle (orig. esp. in single combat). Const. with, against.
[1543Grafton Harding's Chron. Ded. xv, That I, a poore earle..Maye combattre with hym, beyng a kyng.] 1564A. Jenkinson in Hakluyt Voy. (1599) I. 347 Haucoir-Hamshe combating with the sayd giant, did binde..him in chaines. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 711, I will not combat in my shirt. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 2 With that Pagan proud he combatt will that day. 1652Sir C. Cotterell tr. Calprenede's Cassandra iii. 185 Your men combated..against the first of ours. 1836Hor. Smith Tin Trump. (1876) 113 So habituated to fighting, that he went on combatting after he was dead. 1867Conington æneid xi. 837 Or would men combat hand to hand.
b. fig.
1593Shakes., Rich. II, v. ii. 32 His face still combating with teares and smiles. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. 190 When equal Oratours do combat with contrary opinions. 1736Butler Anal. i. iii. Wks. 1874 I. 66 [Virtue] may combat with greater advantage hereafter. 1810Scott Lady of L. ii. xxxii, Death seemed combating with life.
2. trans. To fight with, engage, oppose in battle.
1590Greene Orl. Fur. (1599) 8 He shall e're night be met and combated. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. x. 47 That Alexander Iden..Tooke oddes to combate a poore famisht man. 1652Sir C. Cotterell tr. Calprenede's Cassandra i. 44 He hath no more Antagonists to combate. 1806Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 119 Under the necessity of turning out to combat their spoilers.
b. fig. (Now the most frequent use.)
1627Lisander & Cal. ii. 28 Calista..being no lesse combated with the obligation which shee had unto Lisanders love. 1671Milton Samson 864 Only my love of thee held long debate, And combated in silence all these reasons With hard contest. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. i. 13 To follow nature cannot be to combat truth. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 73 You think you are combating prejudice, but you are at war with nature. 1876C. M. Davies Unorth. Lond. 107 He combated the idea.
Hence ˈcombated ppl. a.; ˈcombating vbl. n. and ppl. a.
15941st Pt. Contention vii. 26 The combating Betweene the Armourer and his man. 1685H. More Illustr. 280 With whom Christ had no small combating long before. 1869M. Arnold Poems II. 193 Not human combatings with death. 1870Rolleston Anim. Life Introd. 18 Methods for the combating of disease. |