I. ˈbrȯl verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English brawlen; perhaps akin to Dutch & Low German brallen to brag
intransitive verb
1. : to quarrel usually noisily : wrangle violently
when statesmen brawled with each other outrageously — American Guide Series: Texas
2. : to complain loudly : raise a clamor
mobs brawling about unfair rationing of food
3. : to make a loud confused noise (as of water of a rapid stream running over stones)
the Miami river … brawled over 25 feet of rapids in the North Fork — Marjory S. Douglas
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to call down violently : revile
2. : to shout (as orders) in a loud often hoarse voice
sergeants brawling out commands
3. archaic : to force or drive by shouting or reviling
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from brawlen, v.
1.
a. : a loud, angry, or disorderly quarrel
a brawl between husband and wife that kept the whole neighborhood awake
b.
(1) : a rough noisy and often prolonged hand-to-hand fight
a barroom brawl
(2) slang : a social affair : dance , party ; especially : a drinking party
she always tosses a perfectly savage brawl for all the … students — A.O.Myrer
2. : a loud tumultuous noise
the spring run became quite a trout brook and its tiny murmur a loud brawl — John Burroughs
Synonyms:
broil , riot , fracas , melee , row , rumpus , scrap : brawl indicates a noisy fight or quarrel with racket, recrimination, hurly-burly, and angry blows
a howling brawl amongst vicious hoodlums — Jean Stafford
the settlers in the river towns shivered excitedly at the uproar of the loggers' drunken brawls, the shattering of the tavern's glassware — American Guide Series: Minnesota
broil indicates a disordered, confused turmoil, conflict, or fight without clear issues or demarcation between contestants
but village mirth breeds contests, broils, and blows — P.B.Shelley
plunging us in all the broils of the European nations — Thomas Jefferson
riot may indicate a turbulent tumultuous uproar participated in by a number of persons with violent action breaking civil peace
the draft riots in Civil War days
angered supporters of both teams swarmed out of the stands and the game turned into a riot
fracas may apply to an excited disturbance or noisy quarrel, with or without blows
cowboys hurt in a gambling fracas — Laura Krey
melee suggests a swirling unclear series of hand-to-hand conflicts or something similar
in such a melee, of course, no chronicler could be very clear, and the more active of the knights are much confused — E.V.Lucas
in 1934, 8000 lettuce pickers struck; when the police attempted to break up picket lines, the resultant melee in which blood was shed made headlines — American Guide Series: California
row applies to any noisy demonstration or fight; rumpus may intensify suggestions of disturbance and commotion; scrap indicates a fight, often inconsequential, or a noisy sharp quarrel
a crockery-smashing family row — Edward Sackville-West & Desmond Shawe-Taylor
but the row went a good deal deeper than a mere squabble in the children's schoolroom — Alan Moorehead
such a rumpus that everybody in the neighborhood took sides — L.C.Douglas
a bare-knuckled political scrap — New Republic
III.
variant of branle