scuffle

English

WOTD – 27 August 2016

Pronunciation

Scuffle

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌfəl/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌfəl
• Hyphenation: scuf‧fle

Etymology 1

Possibly of North Germanic/Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish skuff (“a push”) and skuffa (“to push”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”).

Noun

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters.
   • 1692, Roger L'Estrange, “Fab[le] CCCCLXX. A Farmer and His Servant.”, in Fables of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: With Morals and Reflexions, London: Printed for R[ichard] Sare, T. Sawbridge, B. Took, M[atthew] Gillyflower, A. & J. Churchil, and J[oseph] Hindmarsh, OCLC 12706417; 2nd corrected and amended edition, London: Printed for R[ichard] Sare, B. Took, M[atthew] Gillyflower, A. & J. Churchil, J[oseph] Hindmarsh, and G[eorge] Sawbridge, 1694, OCLC 606109080, page 435:

     The Dog leaps upon the Serpent, and Tears it to Pieces; but in the Scuffle the Cradle happen'd to be Overturn'd: […]

   • 2016 June 11, Phil McNulty, “England 1–1 Russia”, in BBC Sport‎^[1], archived from the original on 13 June 2016:

     Fights ensued as many England supporters attempted to retreat before some stewards moved in. Intermittent scuffles continued to break out until the section of the crowd where the trouble started was vacated.

2. (archaic) A child's pinafore or bib.

Translations

rough, disorderly fight or struggle at close quarters

• Catalan: batussa (ca) f
• Czech: rvačka (cs) f
• Dutch: handgemeen (nl) n, scheldpartij (nl) f, schermutseling (nl) f, schermutselingen (nl) pl
• Finnish: käsirysy (fi), nujakka, kahakka (fi), kahina (fi)
• French: rixe (fr) f, échauffourée (fr) f
• Galician: pelexa f
• German: Handgemenge (de) n, Rauferei (de) f
• Hungarian: dulakodás (hu)
• Italian: zuffa (it) f, rissa (it) f, baruffa (it) f, ruffa f

• Japanese: 取っ組み合い (tokkumiai)
• Norman: freûlée f
• Portuguese: rixa (pt)
• Russian: сты́чка (ru) f (stýčka), дра́ка (ru) f (dráka)
• Spanish: riña (es) f, refriega (es)
• Swedish: slagsmål (sv) n, handgemäng (sv) n

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.
   • 1648, attributed to Charles I of England, Εἰκὼν Βασιλική [Eikōn Basilikē = Royal Portrait]. The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Maiestie, in His Solitvdes and Svfferings, [London?]: [s.n.], OCLC 612476868, page 15:

     Certainly a gallant man had rather fight to great diſadvantages for number and place in the field in an orderly way, then ſcuffle with an undiſciplined rabble.

2. (intransitive) To walk with a shuffling gait.
3. (slang) To make a living with difficulty, getting by on a low income, to struggle financially.

Translations

to fight or struggle confusedly at close quarters

• Azerbaijani: dalaşmaq, çarpışmaq (az)
• Catalan: esbatussar-se (ca)
• Dutch: roepen (nl), schelden (nl)
• Finnish: nujakoida, kahakoida, kahista (fi), kärhämöidä
• German: raufen (de), balgen (de)
• Hungarian: dulakodik (hu)

• Norman: s'freûler
• Polish: naparzać się impf (colloquial), młócić się (pl) impf, grzmocić się impf (colloquial), trzaskać się (pl) impf (colloquial), szamotać się impf, targać się impf, tłuc się (pl) impf, prać się (pl) impf (colloquial), walić się (pl) impf, napieprzać się impf (rude)
• Russian: дра́ться (ru) (drátʹsja)
• Spanish: reñir (es)

to walk with a shuffling gait

• Finnish: laahustaa (fi)
• German: schlurfen (de)

• Hungarian: csoszog (hu)
• Russian: ша́ркать (ru) (šárkatʹ)

to get by (financially)

• Finnish: kitkuttaa, kituuttaa (fi), kitkutella (fi), nitkuttaa

• Russian: ^{(please verify)} влачи́ть ни́щенское существова́ние (vlačítʹ níščenskoje suščestvovánije)

Etymology 2

A borrowing from Dutch schoffel.

Noun

scuffle (plural scuffles)

1. A Dutch hoe, manipulated by both pushing and pulling.

Synonyms

• (Dutch hoe): scuffle hoe

Translations

Dutch hoe

• Dutch: schoffel (nl) m or f
• French: binette (fr) f

• Maori: pāketu
• Spanish: azada holandesa f

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.