'Wager of battle' definitions:

Definition of 'Wager of battle'

From: GCIDE
  • Battle \Bat"tle\, n. [OE. bataille, bataile, F. bataille battle, OF., battle, battalion, fr. L. battalia, battualia, the fighting and fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fr. batuere to strike, beat. Cf. Battalia, 1st Battel, and see Batter, v. t. ]
  • 1. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life. [1913 Webster]
  • The whole intellectual battle that had at its center the best poem of the best poet of that day. --H. Morley. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • The king divided his army into three battles. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every action. --Robertson. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear; battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Battle is used adjectively or as the first part of a self-explaining compound; as, battle brand, a "brand" or sword used in battle; battle cry; battlefield; battle ground; battle array; battle song. [1913 Webster]
  • Battle piece, a painting, or a musical composition, representing a battle.
  • Battle royal. (a) A fight between several gamecocks, where the one that stands longest is the victor. --Grose. (b) A contest with fists or cudgels in which more than two are engaged; a m[^e]l['e]e. --Thackeray.
  • Drawn battle, one in which neither party gains the victory.
  • To give battle, to attack an enemy.
  • To join battle, to meet the attack; to engage in battle.
  • Pitched battle, one in which the armies are previously drawn up in form, with a regular disposition of the forces.
  • Wager of battle. See under Wager, n. [1913 Webster]
  • Syn: Conflict; encounter; contest; action.
  • Usage: Battle, Combat, Fight, Engagement. These words agree in denoting a close encounter between contending parties. Fight is a word of less dignity than the others. Except in poetry, it is more naturally applied to the encounter of a few individuals, and more commonly an accidental one; as, a street fight. A combat is a close encounter, whether between few or many, and is usually premeditated. A battle is commonly more general and prolonged. An engagement supposes large numbers on each side, engaged or intermingled in the conflict. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Wager of battle'

From: GCIDE
  • wager \wa"ger\ (w[=a]"j[~e]r), n. [OE. wager, wajour, OF. wagiere, or wageure, F. gageure. See Wage, v. t.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge. [1913 Webster]
  • Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may be as the persons please. --Sir W. Temple. [1913 Webster]
  • If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity. --Bentley. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Law) A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: At common law a wager is considered as a legal contract which the courts must enforce unless it be on a subject contrary to public policy, or immoral, or tending to the detriment of the public, or affecting the interest, feelings, or character of a third person. In many of the United States an action can not be sustained upon any wager or bet. --Chitty. --Bouvier. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet. [1913 Webster]
  • Wager of battel, or Wager of battle (O. Eng. Law), the giving of gage, or pledge, for trying a cause by single combat, formerly allowed in military, criminal, and civil causes. In writs of right, where the trial was by champions, the tenant produced his champion, who, by throwing down his glove as a gage, thus waged, or stipulated, battle with the champion of the demandant, who, by taking up the glove, accepted the challenge. The wager of battel, which has been long in disuse, was abolished in England in 1819, by a statute passed in consequence of a defendant's having waged his battle in a case which arose about that period. See Battel.
  • Wager of law (Law), the giving of gage, or sureties, by a defendant in an action of debt, that at a certain day assigned he would take a law, or oath, in open court, that he did not owe the debt, and at the same time bring with him eleven neighbors (called compurgators), who should avow upon their oaths that they believed in their consciences that he spoke the truth.
  • Wager policy. (Insurance Law) See under Policy.
  • Wagering contract or gambling contract. A contract which is of the nature of wager. Contracts of this nature include various common forms of valid commercial contracts, as contracts of insurance, contracts dealing in futures, options, etc. Other wagering contracts and bets are now generally made illegal by statute against betting and gambling, and wagering has in many cases been made a criminal offence. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] [1913 Webster]