combat English[edit] Word origin 1[edit] From Middle English fighten , from Old English feohtan (“to battle, battle, aim”), coming from Proto-West Germanic *fehtan , coming from Proto-Germanic *fehtaną (“to comb, aggravate, shear, struggle along with”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to brush, shear”). Affiliated along with Scots fecht (“to deal with”), West