Meanings
comparative more battlesome · superlative most battlesome
- Characterised or marked by battling; quarrelsome.
He was an ill/favoured young fellow with the scar of some old fight running down his face; the Thames boatmen were ever a battlesome crew.
2005, C. J. Sansom, Dark Fire1 more example
This letter, however, is Ellen Willmott writing in a style in which she felt much more comfortable: downright, partisan, battlesome and uncaring for the feelings of others.
2012, Audrey Le Lièvre, Miss Willmott of Warley Place
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰedʰh₂-
- Latinbattuō
- Late Latinbattālia
- Old Frenchbataille
- Middle Englishbatayle
- Englishbattle
- Proto-Indo-European*sem-
- Proto-Indo-European*somHós
- Proto-Germanic*samaz
- Englishbattlesome
Cite this entry
battlesome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battlesome
“battlesome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battlesome. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “battlesome,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/battlesome.
Source: battlesome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.