different between fight vs encounter

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English fighten, from Old English feohtan (“to fight, combat, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *fehtan? (“to comb, tease, shear, struggle with”), from Proto-Indo-European *pe?- (“to comb, shear”).

Cognate with Scots fecht (“to fight”), West Frisian fjochtsje, fjuchte (“to fight”), Dutch vechten (“to fight”), Low German fechten (“to fight”), German fechten (“to fight, fence”), Swedish fäkta (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons), to wave vigorously (and carelessly) with one's arms”), Latin pect? (“comb, thrash”, verb), Albanian pjek (“to hit, strive, fight”), Ancient Greek ???? (pék?, “comb or card wool”, verb). Related also to Old English feht (“wool, shaggy pelt, fleece”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: f?t, IPA^(key): /fa?t/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [f??t]
• Rhymes: -a?t

Verb

fight (third-person singular simple present fights, present participle fighting, simple past fought, past participle fought or (archaic) foughten)

1. (intransitive) To contend in physical conflict, either singly or in war, battle etc.

2. (reciprocal) To contend in physical conflict with each other, either singly or in war, battle etc.

3. (intransitive) To strive for something; to campaign or contend for success.
4. (transitive) To conduct or engage in (battle, warfare etc.).
   • 1856, Thomas Macaulay, Life of Samuel Johnson

     was left to fight his way through the world.

   • I have fought a good fight.

5. (transitive) To engage in combat with; to oppose physically, to contest with.

6. (transitive) To try to overpower; to fiercely counteract.
7. (transitive, archaic) To cause to fight; to manage or manoeuvre in a fight.

8. (intransitive) Of colours or other design elements: to clash; to fail to harmonize.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fight

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: feti

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fight, feyght, fi?t, fecht, from Old English feoht, ?efeoht, from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan, from Proto-Germanic *feht?, *gafeht? (“fight, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic *fehtan? (“to struggle with”). Cognate with Dutch gevecht, German Gefecht.

Noun

fight (countable and uncountable, plural fights)

1. An occasion of fighting.

2. (archaic) A battle between opposing armies.
3. A physical confrontation or combat between two or more people or groups.

4. (sports) A boxing or martial arts match.

5. A conflict, possibly nonphysical, with opposing ideas or forces; strife.

6. (uncountable) The will or ability to fight.

7. (obsolete) A screen for the combatants in ships.
   • 1673, John Dryden, Amboyna

     Up with your fights, and your nettings prepare.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fight

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: feti
  • ? Dutch: fittie
• ? Japanese: ???? (faito)

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• incounter (archaic)
• encountre, incountre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English encountren, from rom Anglo-Norman encountrer, Old French encontrer (“to confront”), from encontre (“against, counter to”), from Late Latin incontr? (“in front of”) itself from Latin in (“in”) + contr? (“against”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?ka?nt?/, /???ka?nt?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?ka?nt?/, /???ka?nt?/
• Hyphenation: en?coun?ter
• Rhymes: -a?nt?(?)

Verb

encounter (third-person singular simple present encounters, present participle encountering, simple past and past participle encountered)

1. (transitive) To meet (someone) or find (something), especially unexpectedly.
2. (transitive) To confront (someone or something) face to face.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To engage in conflict, as with an enemy.

   Three armies encountered at Waterloo.

Synonyms

(meet unexpectedly): cross paths

Translations

Noun

encounter (plural encounters)

1. A meeting, especially one that is unplanned or unexpected.

   • That was Selwyn's first encounter with the Ruthvens. A short time afterward at the opera Gerald dragged him into a parterre to say something amiable to one of the amiable débutante Craig girls—and Selwyn found himself again facing Alixe.

   • 1995, Maija Kalin, Coping with problems of understanding: repair sequences in coversations between native and non-native speakers:

     As they have planned the encounters, they mostly have control over the time limits.

2. A hostile, often violent meeting; a confrontation, skirmish, or clash, as between combatants.
3. (sports) A match between two opposing sides.

Synonyms

• (hostile meeting): clash, confrontation, brush, skirmish

Derived terms

• close encounter
• encounter group

Translations

Anagrams

• encountre