skirmish
[ skur-mish ]
/ ˈskɜr mɪʃ /
noun
Military.
a fight between small bodies of troops, especially advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
any brisk conflict or encounter: She had a skirmish with her landlord about the rent.
verb (used without object)
to engage in a skirmish.
Origin of skirmish
1300–50; (noun) Middle English
skirmysshe < Old French
eskirmiss-, long stem of
eskirmir < Germanic (compare Old High German
skirman); replacing Middle English
scarmouche < Old French
escaramoucher (see
Scaramouch); (v.) late Middle English
scarmuchen, scarmusshen to skirmish, Middle English
skirmisshen to brandish a weapon < Old French
escar(a)mucher to skirmish; vowels influenced by Old French
eskirmiss-
synonym study for skirmish
1. See
battle1.
OTHER WORDS FROM skirmish
skir·mish·er, noun out·skir·mish, verb (used with object)Words nearby skirmish
skipping,
skipping-rope,
skipton,
skirl,
skirling,
skirmish,
skirnir,
skirr,
skirret,
skirt,
skirt chaser
Example sentences from the Web for skirmish
British Dictionary definitions for skirmish
skirmish
/ (ˈskɜːmɪʃ) /
noun
a minor short-lived military engagement
any brisk clash or encounter, usually of a minor nature
verb
(intr often foll by with)
to engage in a skirmish
Derived forms of skirmish
skirmisher, nounWord Origin for skirmish
C14: from Old French
eskirmir, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German
skirmen to defend