Fisticuff

Origin

fist + cuff ("blow with the hand"). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.

Full definition of fisticuff

Noun

1. (rare) A fistfight.
• 1852, Eli Bowen et al., The Pictorial Sketch-book of Pennsylvania,Every fifteen or twenty minutes there was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff.
2. (obsolete) A cuff or blow administered with the fist.

Verb

1. (chiefly humorous) To engage in a physical fight.
2. (obsolete) To strike, fight or spar with the fists.
• 1846, Making of America Project, The American Whig Review,Do they fisticuff with thunder-snaggs ...

Derived terms

• fisticuffer