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Fisticuff
noun, verb
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fistfight. rare
"Every fifteen or twenty minutes there was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff."
- 2 A cuff or blow administered with the fist. obsolete
"The apprenticeship of the Prussian Crown Princes has always consisted in receiving fisticuffs and cowhidings from their progenitor, the king."
Verb
- 1 To engage in a physical fight. humorous
"Generously scattering a drop of my fortune on an early morning sea breeze. Should have jumped after it. Grabber at life's banquet follows a fortune to doom. As folk fleece and fisticuff in street."
- 2 To strike, fight or spar with the fists. obsolete
"Do they fisticuff with thunder-snaggs […]"
Etymology
Etymology 1
From fist + cuff (“blow with the hand”). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.
Etymology 2
From fist + cuff (“blow with the hand”). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.
See also for "fisticuff"
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