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noun
1.
Military. a fight between small bodies of troops, especially advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
2.
any brisk conflict or encounter: She had a skirmish with her landlord about the rent.
verb (used without object)
3.
to engage in a skirmish.
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Skirmish
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
Origin:
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-
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-
Related forms
skir·mish·er, noun
out·skir·mish, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To skirmish
Example Sentences
- They were frontline troops in an important skirmish.
- The skirmish promptly threatened to become a full-scale trade war.
- It was a reminder that a small skirmish in these borderlands could spark a global showdown.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
skirmish
c.1300, from O.Fr. escarmouche "skirmish," from It. scaramuccia, probably from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. skirmen "to protect, defend"), influenced in M.E. by a separate verb skirmysshen "to brandish a weapon," from O.Fr. eskirmiss-, stem of eskirmir "to fence," from Frankish *skirmjan, from the same
EXPANDGmc. source. The verb is attested from c.1470. Cf. also scrimmage.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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