corps-a-corps

noun

The action of two fencers coming into physical contact with one another with any portion of their bodies or hilts.

OriginFrench corps-à-corps →
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Meanings

noun
  1. fencingThe action of two fencers coming into physical contact with one another with any portion of their bodies or hilts.

Origin

  1. Frenchcorps-à-corps
  2. Englishcorps-a-corps

Unadapted borrowing from French corps-à-corps (literally “body to body”). Compare corps, corpse, corpus.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

corps-a-corps. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corps-a-corps

MLA

“corps-a-corps.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corps-a-corps. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “corps-a-corps,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corps-a-corps.

Source: corps-a-corps on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.