Skirmishes
The expression skirmish (from Italian scaramuccia , also "meeting") describes the temporally and spatially limited struggle of smaller units within a larger conflict . The associated verb is to skirmish or, in the old-fashioned way, to scharmutzieren : deliver small battles, fight skirmishing .
Skirmishes can also trigger a battle or war . They often take place between more or less isolated units, such as the advance or rear guard or a patrol / post . While certain rules are adhered to in a battle, the skirmishes are usually wildly confused, there are no clear front lines.
The word skirmish was adopted into Russian in the form шармицель sharmitsel , but has not been used there since the 18th century. In Swedish it has its original meaning as skärmytsling . In English , the version skirmish is still in use today.
See also
literature
- Skirmishes. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 14 : R - skewness - (VIII). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1893 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
