duel

Meaning

Noun

1. Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
2. Historically, the wager of battle (judicial combat).
3. (broadly) Any battle or struggle between two contending persons, forces, groups, or ideas.

Verb

To engage in a battle.

Synonyms

single combat

battle

fight

affaire d’honneur

joust

combat

struggle

strife

scuffle

conflict

warfare

cream

donnybrook

dueling

engagement

fan

fly

✈️

fray

free-for-all

hammer

🔨

hassle

hit

melee

opposition

palpitate

pound

💷

quarrel

retreat

riot

rough-and-tumble

scour

scramble

shoot-out

slam

strike

thrash

thresh

throb

tilt

tussle

wallop

war

whip

fight a duel

shoot out

duelling

rencontre

fight with fists

armed fighting

duello

Translations

duelo

duel

duello

Duell

μονομαχία

duel

duelo

düello

Zweikampf

duel

tweegevecht

duellare

joute

tweekamp

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdjuːəl/

Etymology

Cognate with Latin: bellum

In summary

From Medieval Latin duellum (“fight between two men, duel”), itself from Old Latin duellum (“war, fight”), which survived in Classical Latin as a rare byform of bellum and was later reinterpreted as “duel” by unetymological association with duo (“two”).
May have entered English through Middle French duel.