melee

Where does the word "melee" come from? It comes from Latin miscere, passing through Old French before entering English (1640s).

Melee’s story begins in Latin: miscere meant “to mix.” The basic verb of mixing. By 1100s, the word had taken hold in Old French as mesler. Kept the sense of mixing and mingling. By 1200s, Old French speakers had reshaped it into meslee. The feminine past participle named a chaotic mixing of combatants. It reached English by 1640s as melee. Borrowed (a second time, after an earlier loan had faded) for confused hand-to-hand combat. Today, melee means a confused, hand-to-hand fight among several people.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient miscere "to mix", the basic verb of mixing.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · 1100s mesler "to mix, mingle", kept the sense of mixing and mingling.
3. Stage 3 · Old French · 1200s meslee "a brawl, a confused fight", the feminine past participle named a chaotic mixing of combatants.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1640s melee "confused conflict among many persons", borrowed (a second time, after an earlier loan had faded) for confused hand-to-hand combat.