Melee

Look up melee or mêlée in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A melee (/ˈmeɪleɪ/ or /ˈmɛleɪ/) is hand-to-hand fighting 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.

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. 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 form of close proximity and physical contact in combat.

See also

• Combatives
• Tournament (medieval) § Melee
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (Often called "Melee" by fans)