skirmish

a small fight

TRANSLATION

Scharmützel, Geplänkel, Gerangel

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

"On Saturday, hours after a SKIRMISH between government soldiers and coup supporters in which two soldiers and a journalist were wounded, President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara announced that he had dismissed the captive, democratically elected government, leaving him to run the country in the coming months."

(Suva, Fiji report in Time Europe, June 5th 2000)

Did you
know?

This interesting sounding word comes from Middle English skyrmissh, alteration of skarmish, from Middle French escarmouche, from Old Italian scaramuccia.

Date: 14th century

Here's what Merriam-Webster says

1 : a minor fight in war usually incidental to larger movements

2 a : a brisk preliminary verbal conflict b : a minor dispute or contest between opposing parties

NOTE: angry skirmish = verärgerter Wortwechsel

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