single combat
3
8.2
- noun
- /ˈsɪŋɡəl ˈkɒmbæt/
:
combate singular
- In ancient times, warriors often resolved their conflicts by engaging in single combat.
- defeat in single combat
Examples
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We will decide the winner of the dispute through single combat in the arena.
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The rebellion was crushed and Sati Barzanes killed in single combat by a Greek cavalry officer nearby.
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We'll decide the issue by single combat between you and me.
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The honor was mine until another came to challenge me to single combat.
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But you must defeat him in single combat.
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The king must not engage in single combat.
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One way to prove innocence was single combat: a knight challenged Count Hugh to prove his innocence by duel.
Academic text (2011) -
I defeated Krull in single combat, foiling his war on Metropolis.
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Truly you are great and powerful, Ragnar... for you poisoned the old king... then challenged the heir to the throne and beat him in single combat.
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Drizzt didn't follow, though, for he preferred single combat to the wildness of general melee.
Fiction book (1992)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a fight between two individuals' is directly and compositionally derived from 'single' (one/alone) modifying 'combat' (a fight), yielding a one-on-one fight. This straightforward modifier+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Single combat comes from old battles where two champions met alone to fight while their armies watched. So single, meaning 'alone', and combat, meaning 'fight', give the image of 'a fight between two people' used to settle a dispute or show bravery.