different between fistfight vs fisticuff

English

Alternative forms

• fist-fight, fist fight

Etymology

From fist +? fight.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?st?fa?t/

Noun

fistfight (plural fistfights)

1. A fight using bare fists.

Synonyms

• fisticuffs
• bare-hand boxing
• barehanded boxing
• bare-knuckle boxing
• bare-knuckled boxing
• duking it out
• hand-to-hand combat
• hand-to-hand fight

Translations

Verb

fistfight (third-person singular simple present fistfights, present participle fistfighting, simple past and past participle fistfought)

1. To fight using bare fists.

Synonyms

• duke it out

Translations

English

Etymology

fist +? cuff (“blow with the hand”). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.

Noun

fisticuff (plural fisticuffs)

1. (rare) A fistfight.
2. (obsolete) A cuff or blow administered with the fist.

Verb

fisticuff (third-person singular simple present fisticuffs, present participle fisticuffing, simple past and past participle fisticuffed)

1. (chiefly humorous) To engage in a physical fight.
2. (obsolete) To strike, fight or spar with the fists.

Derived terms

• fisticuffer

References

• fisticuff in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “fisticuff” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.