Emily Dickinson Lexicon

COM'BAT, v.i. [Fr. combattre, com and battre, to beat with or against; It. combattere; Sp. combatir; Port. combater; Arm. combadti or combatein. See Beat.]

1. To fight; to struggle or contend with an opposing force. Pardon me; I will not combat in my shirt. – Shak. This word is particularly used to denote private contest, or the fighting of two persons in a duel; but it is used in a general sense for the contention of bodies of men, nations, armies, or any species of animals. After the fall of the republic, the Romans combated only for the choice of masters. – Gibbon.
2. To act in opposition. – Milton. It is followed by with before the person, and for before the thing sought; as, A. combats with B. for his right.