Feohtan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to engage in combat, battle or armed conflict against an opponent
2. A archaic word for fighting, struggling against an enemy in a battle or open armed contest
3. Old English term describing the act of contending in battle, waging war or striving through violent combat

Etymology: Old English "feohtan" meant to fight, strive, or struggle, and it is the direct ancestor of modern English "fight." Its past tenses, "fuhton" and "fohten," follow the strong-verb pattern that still gives us "fought." The old "h" in the middle of the verb has disappeared from speech, but the spelling kept it, which is why "fought" and "fight" are written with gh. The root is shared across the Germanic languages. Old Saxon and Old High German both had "fehtan," and modern German "fechten" shows an unexpected narrowing: it once meant fighting in general, but today it mainly means fencing, the sport with blades. English kept the broad sense of combat in every form, from battles to brawls.