different between battle vs barney

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?bæt?l/, [?bat???]
• (US) enPR: b?t'l, IPA^(key): /?bætl?/, [?bæ???], [bæt??]
• Rhymes: -æt?l
• Hyphenation: bat?tle

Etymology 1

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin batt?lia, variant of battu?lia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battu? (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), from a Gaulish root from Proto-Indo-European *b?ed?- (“to stab, dig”). Doublet of battalia and battel.

Displaced native Old English ?efeoht.

Alternative forms

• batail, battel, battell (14th–17th centuries)

Noun

battle (plural battles)

1. A contest, a struggle.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Ecclesiastes, 9:11:
2. (military) A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.
3. (military, now rare) A division of an army; a battalion.
4. (military, obsolete) The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Hayward to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

• battlement

Translations

Verb

battle (third-person singular simple present battles, present participle battling, simple past and past participle battled)

1. (intransitive) To join in battle; to contend in fight

   Scientists always battle over theories.

   She has been battling against cancer for years.

2. (transitive) To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with.

   She has been battling cancer for years.

Derived terms

• battle it out

Related terms

• embattle

Translations

Etymology 2

From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel (“flourishing”), from Old English *batol (“improving, tending to be good”), from batian (“to get better, improve”) + -ol ( +? -le).

Alternative forms

• battil, battill, battel, baittle, bettle, batwell

Adjective

battle (comparative more battle, superlative most battle)

1. (Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England, agriculture) Improving; nutritious; fattening.

   battle grass, battle pasture

2. (Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) Fertile; fruitful.

   battle soil, battle land

Derived terms

• overbattle

Verb

battle (third-person singular simple present battles, present participle battling, simple past and past participle battled)

1. (transitive, Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To nourish; feed.
2. (transitive, Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To render (for example soil) fertile or fruitful

Related terms

• batful
• batten

Further reading

• battle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• battle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “battle”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• batlet, battel, tablet

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bä?ni, IPA^(key): /?b??ni/
• (General American) enPR: bä??ni, IPA^(key): /?b??ni/
• Rhymes: -??(?)ni

Etymology 1

Etymology unknown. Often incorrectly thought to be Cockney rhyming slang from "Barney Rubble" ( "trouble", from the character Barney Rubble on The Flintstones), it actually dates back to the 19th century and its origin is unknown.

Noun

barney (plural barneys)

1. (obsolete, Britain, slang) A lark, a romp, some fun.
2. (obsolete, Britain, slang) A hoax, a humbug, something that is not genuine, a rigged or unfair sporting contest.
3. (obsolete, Harvard University slang) A poor recitation. [c. 1810]
4. (Britain, Australia, slang) A noisy argument.
5. (Britain, Australia, slang) A minor physical fight.
6. (US dialect, Boston) A student at Harvard University.

Adjective

barney (comparative more barney, superlative most barney)

1. (obsolete, Britain, slang) insane crazy, loony.

Synonyms

• (noisy argument): quarrel, row, or see Thesaurus:dispute
• (fight): fisticuffs, scuffle, or see Thesaurus:fight

Verb

barney (third-person singular simple present barneys, present participle barneying, simple past and past participle barneyed)

1. (obsolete, Harvard University slang) To recite badly; to fail. [c. 1810]
2. (Britain, Australia) To argue, to quarrel.

Synonyms

• (argue): bicker, have a barney, row, squabble, or see Thesaurus:squabble

References

• Hall, Benjamin Homer (1851) A Collection of College Words and Customs?^[8], page 15
• Albert Barrère and Charles G[odfrey] Leland, compilers and editors (1889–1890) , “barney”, in A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant […], volume I (A–K), Edinburgh: […] The Ballantyne Press, OCLC 882571771, pages 81–82
• Farmer, John Stephen (1890) Slang and Its Analogues?^[9], volume 1, page 129

Etymology 2

From the character Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.

Noun

barney (plural barneys)

1. (US, pejorative slang) A police officer, usually one perceived as inferior or overzealous.
   • 2005, “Scott Peterson's sister speaks out”, in (Please provide the title of the work)?^[10], MSNBC, March 3, 2005: “Foo”

Synonyms

• (police officer): fed, pig, or see Thesaurus:police officer

Anagrams

• brayne, nearby