Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fisticuff

/fˈɪstɪkˌʌf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: fisticuff
IPA: /fˈɪstɪkˌʌf/

20

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

noun

A cuff or blow administered with the fist.

Obsolete

verb

To engage in a physical fight.

Humorous

verb

To strike, fight or spar with the fists.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"Every fifteen or twenty minutes there was a rush to some part, to witness a fisticuff."
"This clearly was not a case for fisticuffs, even apart from the very natural aversion I had to beat that Shadow—this wandering and tormented thing."
"The apprenticeship of the Prussian Crown Princes has always consisted in receiving fisticuffs and cowhidings from their progenitor, the king."
"Generously scattering a drop of my fortune on an early morning sea breeze. Should have jumped after it. Grabber at life's banquet follows a fortune to doom. As folk fleece and fisticuff in street."
"Do they fisticuff with thunder-snaggs […]"

Etymology

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

Usage

Inflected Forms

fisticuffs (plural) fisticuffs (present, singular) fisticuffing (participle, present) fisticuffed (participle, past) fisticuffed (past)

Derived Forms

fisticuffer

Questions

How do you pronounce fisticuff?: The recorded pronunciation is /fˈɪstɪkˌʌf/.
What does fisticuff mean?: A fistfight.
Where does fisticuff come from?: From fist + cuff (“blow with the hand”). Modern uses as a verb are a back-formation on the plural uses of the noun.

How to pronounce fisticuff

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fisticuff”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fˈɪstɪkˌʌf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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