from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
wager \wa"ger\ (w[=a]"j[~e]r), n. [OE. wager, wajour, OF.
wagiere, or wageure, F. gageure. See {Wage}, v. t.]
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1. Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a
contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a
pledge.
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Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may
be as the persons please. --Sir W.
Temple.
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If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager
against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him
never hereafter accuse others of credulity.
--Bentley.
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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.
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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.
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3. That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet.
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{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.]
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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2. A struggle; a contest; as, the battle of life.
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The whole intellectual battle that had at its center
the best poem of the best poet of that day. --H.
Morley.
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3. A division of an army; a battalion. [Obs.]
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The king divided his army into three battles.
--Bacon.
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The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called the
battle, and on it alone depended the fate of every
action. --Robertson.
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4. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear;
battalia. [Obs.] --Hayward.
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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.
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{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.
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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.
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