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Baffle vs Battle - What's the difference?

baffle | battle |

In obsolete terms the difference between baffle and battle

is that baffle is to hoodwink or deceive (someone) while battle is the main body, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; battalia.

In intransitive terms the difference between baffle and battle

is that baffle is to struggle in vain while battle is to join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories.

As an adjective battle is

improving; nutritious; fattening.

As a proper noun Battle is

{{surname|habitational|from=Middle English}} from places in England that have been sites of a battle.

baffle

English

Verb

(baffl)
  • (obsolete) To publicly disgrace, especially of a recreant knight.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.7:
    • He by the heeles him hung upon a tree, / And baffuld so, that all which passed by / The picture of his punishment might see […].
  • (obsolete) To hoodwink or deceive (someone).
    • (Barrow)
  • To bewilder completely; to confuse or perplex.
    • I am baffled by the contradictions and omissions in the instructions.
  • * Prescott
    • calculations so difficult as to have baffled , until within a recent period, the most enlightened nations
  • * John Locke
    • The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us.
  • * Cowper
    • the art that baffles time's tyrannic claim
  • * South
    • a suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all
  • To struggle in vain.
    • A ship baffles with the winds.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A device used to dampen the effects of such things as sound, light, or fluid. Specifically, a baffle is a surface which is placed inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one part to another, without preventing motion altogether.
    • Tanker trucks use baffles to keep the liquids inside from sloshing around.
  • An architectural feature designed to confuse enemies or make them vulnerable.

    • battle

    English

    Etymology 1

    From Early Modern English .

    Alternative forms

    *

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Improving; nutritious; fattening.
    • battle''' grass'', '''''battle pasture
  • Fertile; fruitful.
    • battle''' soil'', '''''battle land
    Derived terms
    *

    Verb

    (battl)
  • To nourish; feed.
  • To render fertile or fruitful, as in soil.
    • Derived terms
    * (l) *
    Related terms
    * *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), from ). Displaced native (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    * batail

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat.
  • A struggle; a contest.
  • :
  • *(rfdate) (Henry Morley) (1822-1894):
  • *:The whole intellectual battle that had at its centre the best poem of the best poet of that day.
  • *
  • *:In truth, Tottenham never really looked like taking all three points and this defeat means they face a battle to reach the knockout stages—with their next home game against PAOK Salonika on 30 November likely to prove decisive.
  • *2012', Clive James 'near the end' in cancer ' battle , ITV News, 21 June 2012:
  • *:Australian broadcaster Clive James has admitted that he is losing his long-fought battle with leukaemia.
  • A division of an army; a battalion.
  • *:
  • *:THenne kyng Arthur made redy his hoost in x batails' and Nero was redy in the felde afore the castel Tarabil with a grete hoost / & he had x ' batails with many mo peple than Arthur had
  • *(rfdate) (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626):
  • *:The king divided his army into three battles .
  • *(rfdate) (1721-1793):
  • *:The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle , and on it alone depended the fate of every action.
  • *2000 , (George RR Martin), A Storm of Swords , Bantam 2011, page 634:
  • *:‘I will have more than twelve thousand men. I mean to divide them into three battles and start up the causeway a half-day apart.’
  • (label) The main body, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; battalia.
  • :(Hayward)
    • Synonyms
    * conflict * encounter * contest * action
    Derived terms
    * battlearray * battlefield * battleground / battle ground * battle of the sexes * battle piece * battle royal * battle song * do battle * drawn battle * fight a losing battle * give battle * join battle * pitched battle * wager of battle

    Verb

    (battl)
  • To join in battle; to contend in fight; as, to battle over theories.
    • She has been battling against cancer for years .
  • To assail in battle; to fight or struggle.
    • She has been battling cancer for years .

    References

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    Statistics

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    Anagrams

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