scuffle

English

Etymology

Possibly of Scandinavian origin. Compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ʌfəl

Noun

Bauernrauferei beim Kartenspiel (Smallholders Playing Cards, c. 1630–1640) by Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A rough disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters
2. A Dutch hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling

Synonyms

• (Dutch hoe): scuffle hoe

Translations

rough disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters

Dutch: handgemeen (nl) n., scheldpartij (nl) f., schermutseling (nl) f., schermutselingen (nl) pl. Finnish: käsirysy (fi), nujakka (fi), kahakka (fi)

German: Handgemenge (de) n., Rauferei (de) f. Italian: zuffa (it), rissa (it), baruffa (it) f. Russian: стычка (ru) f.

Dutch hoe

Dutch: schoffel (nl) m. and f.

Verb

scuffle (third-person singular simple present scuffles, present participle scuffling, simple past and past participle scuffled)

1. (intransitive) To fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters.
2. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait.

Translations

to fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters

Dutch: roepen (nl), schelden (nl) Finnish: nujakoida (fi), kahakoida (fi)

German: raufen (de), balgen (de)

to walk with a shuffling gait

German: schlurfen (de) Hungarian: csoszog (hu)

Russian: шаркать (ru)