duel

Etymology

From Medieval Latin duellum (“fight between two men”), under influence from Latin duo, from Old Latin duellum (whence Latin bellum (“war”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dāu-, *dəu- *dū- (“to injure, destroy, burn”).

noun

1. Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
   It has been 200 years, minus a few days, since Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel here. Weehawken and the duel have been tied together in an often-uncomfortable knot ever since. 2004-07-05, Jason George, “A Duel Evokes Dueling Emotions Over a Unique Place in History”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. Historically, the wager of battle (judicial combat).
3. (by extension) Any battle or struggle between two contending persons, forces, groups, or ideas.
   a sniper duel
   But it leaves them with a few destroyers, the American destroyer force is falling back, and then you have the two cruiser lines with their respective battleships coming in for the big duel. 6 March 2019, Drachinifel, 25:33 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 2022-07-20
   Apple comes out swinging in the duel of the data titans [title] 2021-05-01, John Naughton, “Apple comes out swinging in the duel of the data titans”, in The Guardian

verb

1. To engage in a battle.
   The two dogs were duelling for the bone.
   The country’s fencing federation has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport, granting the weapon from George Lucas’s space saga the same status as the foil, epee and sabre, the traditional blades used at the Olympics. 2019-02-19, “Lightsaber duelling registered as official sport in France”, in The Guardian