battish (batish)

[ She clasp'd his limbs, by impious labour tired, With battish wings. Vernon, tr. of Ovid's Meta morph., viii. battlel (bat'l), n. [Early mod. E. also battel (a spelling still often used archaically, as in wager of ba battel ), batel , batelle , batayle , bataile , bataille , OF. bataille = Pr. Pg. batalha = Sp. batalla = It. battaglia , battalia , battualia , the fighting and fencing fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, battere , L. battuere , batuere , beat, fight, fence: see batter1 and and bate1 .] 1. A fight, hostile encounter, or engagement between opposing forces on land or sea; an important and systematic engagement between in independent armies or fleets. Actions and affairs are engagements of le magnitude than battles , and are often unpremeditated, the result of surprises, or the meeting of armed reconnoitering parties, though the latter is usually termed a skirmish. Battles are cla ed as parallel or oblique , according to the relative positions of the contending armies in order of battle; strategic , when fought upon an objective point selected in planning a campaign, as were the battles of Marengo and Nashville; general , when the whole or the greater part of both armies are engaged; partial , when only brigades, divisions, or army corps are brought into action; offensive , when an army seeks the enemy and attacks him wherever he is encountered; de fensive , when a position is selected with the design of awaiting and repelling the enemy; mixed or defensive offensive, when an army selects and occupies a position in advance, awaits the approach of the enemy, and at the proper moment moves out to engage him. battle 9t. A formidable array similar to an army in battle order. On his bow-back he [the boar] hath a battle set Of bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes. Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 619. Battle-range, the range best suited lighting the Upon of latest military rifles the elevation corresponding to that range is designated by stamping the letter "B" opposite the battle-range elevation. This range is 262 yards, corresponding to a continuous dangerous space of 337 yards, for the Springfield rifle, caliber.45, used against foot troops. - Battle royal. (a) A battle with fists or cudgels, in which more than two combatants are engaged; a free fight. (b) A fight of game-cocks, in which more than two are engaged.- Drawn battle, a battle in which neither party gains the victory. - Order of battle. See order.Pitched battle, a battle in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces. To give battle, to attack an enemy. To join battle, properly, to meet the attack; commonly, to begin a battle. Trial by battle. Same as wager of battle.Wager of battle or battel, in law, a species of trial for the decision of controversies used among the rude military peoples of Europe. It was introduced into England by William the Conqueror, and practised in three cases only in the court martial, or court of chivalry or honor; in appeals of felony; and in i ues joined upon a writ of right. The contest was held before the judges on a piece of ground inclosed, and the combatants were bound to fight till the stars appeared, unle the death or defeat of one party sooner decided the contest. The weapons used were batons or staves an ell long. Women, priests, men above sixty, and lame and blind persons might appear by champions. Though long fallen into desuetude, it was a valid and legal mode of trial in England down to 1818, and was then formally abolished in consequence of the demand by the defendant in a suit for this mode of arbitrament, and of the fact that this demand could not legally be denied him. =Syn. 1. Battle, Engagement, Con flict, Fight, Combat, Contest, Action. Battle is a general term, and the most common. It is the appropriate word for great engagements: as, the battle of Waterloo. A battle may last merely a few hours or for days: as, the battle of Gettysburg lasted three days. Engagement is in technical military usage practically equivalent to battle, but it is a le forcible word. Conflict, literally, a clashing together, is a strong word, implying fierce physical encounter. Fight has the energy of a monosyllable; it denotes actual conflict. A man may take part in a battle without actually fighting. A battle may include many fights: as, the fight at the flagstaff in the battle of the Alma; or it may itself be described as a fight. Combat, like conflict, is a word of more dignity than fight; it is by its history suggestive of a struggle between two, as persons, animals, squadrons, armies. Con test is a very general word, of uncertain strength, but often joined with a strong adjective: as, a stubborn contest. An action is a minor or incidental act of war, a single act of fighting: as, the whole action lasted but an hour. All these words apply equally to operations by land or by sea. See encounter and strife. battlel (bat'l), v.; pret. and pp. battled, ppr. battling. [ 'Tis yours to meet in arms and battle in the plain. Prior . IMG:content-1755.png:[graphic] 2. To struggle; contend; strive for mastery: either absolutely or with for , with , or against : 2. An encounter between two persons; a duel as, to battle with the winds; to battle for free or single combat.-3. A fight or encounter bedom, or against adversity; to battle with ignotween animals, especially when pitted against rance. each other for the amusement of spectators. If we draw lots, he [Cæsar] speeds: His cocks do win the battle still of mine, When it is all to nought; and his quails ever Beat mine, inhoop'd, at odds. Shak ., A. and C., ii. 3. 4. Warfare; hostile action; actual conflict with enemies: as, wounds received or honors gained in battle. Ps. xxiv. 8. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 5. Any contest or conflict; struggle for mastery or victory: as, the battle of life. Who battled for the True, the Just. Tennyson, In Memoriam, lvi. II. trans. 11. To embattle; put into battle array.-21. To fight for. Whom the i have seyn alwey batailen and defenden Chaucer , Boëthius, i. prose 4. goode men. 3. To give battle to; fight against; contend with; fight. [Rare.] He can battle theologians with weapons drawn from an- tique armories unknown to themselves. Whipple , E . and Rev., I. 15.