duel

 
Pronunciation: /ˈdjuːəl/

noun

chiefly historical
  • a prearranged contest with deadly weapons between two people in order to settle a point of honour: twice he had seriously wounded men in duels
  • (in modern use) a contest between two parties: he won by a short head after a great final-furlong duel

verb (duels, duelling, duelled; US duels, dueling, dueled)

[no object]
  • fight a duel or duels: shall we duel over this? (as noun duelling) duelling had been forbidden for serving officers

Derivatives

dueller

(US dueler) noun

duellist

(US duelist) noun

Origin:

late 15th century: from Latin duellum, archaic and literary form of bellum 'war', used in medieval Latin with the meaning 'combat between two persons', partly influenced by dualis 'of two'. The original sense was 'single combat used to decide a judicial dispute'; the sense 'contest to decide a point of honour' dates from the early 17th century

Do not confuse dual with duel. Dual means 'having two parts or aspects' ( the dual role of proprietor/manager), whereas duel means 'a fight or contest between two people' ( he challenged me to a duel).