Melee

For other uses, see Melee (disambiguation).

A melee (/ˈmeɪleɪ/ or /ˈmɛleɪ/) is a confused hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term melee originated circa 1648 from the French word mêlée (French: [mɛle]), derived from the Old French mesler, from which medley and meddle were also derived.^[1]

The 1812 tabletop wargame Kriegsspiel, and H.G. Wells' 1913 Little Wars, referred to the hand-combat stage of the game as a melée, or mêlée, respectively.^[2][3] The term was brought over to tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and in turn to role-playing video games, to describe any close-combat encounter.^[4]

See also

• Combatives
• Tournament (medieval) § Melee