Melee
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Look up melee or mêlée in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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Melee (/ˈmeɪleɪ/ or /ˈmɛleɪ/, French: mêlée [mɛle]; the French spelling is also quite frequent in English writing), generally refers to disorganized close combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts.[1]
The French term was first used in English in c. 1640 (a re-borrowing of a lost Middle English melle,[citation needed] but the Old French borrowing survives in medley and meddle).[1]
In military aviation, a melee has been described as "[a]n air battle in which several aircraft, both friend and foe, are confusingly intermingled".[2]
Lord Nelson described his tactics for the Battle of Trafalgar as inducing a "pell mell battle" focused on engagements between individual ships where the superior morale and skill of the Royal Navy would prevail.[3][relevant? ]
See also
Notes
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References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 OED 2015.
- ↑ Kumar, DeRemer & Marshall 2004, p. 462.
- ↑ Fremont-Barnes 2005, p. 38.