battle royal

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See also: battle-royal

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Preserves the French pattern of adjective after noun. Royal here means “grand in scale”.[1][2]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˌbætl̩ ɹɔɪˈæl/

Noun[edit]

battle royal (plural battles royal or battle royals)

  1. A fight involving three or more individuals, teams, or factions; fought until one person, team, or faction is left standing.
    • 1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 17:
      I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might as well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment.
  2. A heated discussion or debate.

References[edit]

  1. ^ “battle royal”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “royal (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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