Other forms: skirmishes
A skirmish is a small brief fight between advance parties. A brief skirmish, skirmishes broke out, a border skirmish.
It is smaller than a battle and usually unplanned — skirmishing is what happens where scouting parties meet. Figuratively it means a minor clash: a skirmish in the committee, a legal skirmish before the main case. Note skirmisher; and that the word came through French and Italian from a Germanic word for a shield, the same root as screen and skirmish's cousin scaramouche.
1nounskirmishA small brief fight between advance parties.
“A brief skirmish broke out between the two armies' scouts near the river.”
2nounminorA minor clash.
“There was a brief skirmish between the two ministers during the debate.”
skirmish is a small fight.
Old French escarmouche comes from Italian scaramuccia, from a Germanic word for a fight. Scaramouche, the commedia character, is the same word.
Italian
scaramuccia
Old French
escarmouche — skirmish
Middle English
skirmish
English, today
skirmish
From Middle English skirmish (as a verb), from Old French escarmouche (“skirmish”), from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. a doublet of escarmouche and Scaramouche and Scaramucci.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Military & Defence