Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The last extremity. It is obsolete as an English word: but it occurs as French in the phrase à outrance, to the extreme; to the end; especially, in reference to a combat, until the complete defeat of one of the contestants; hence, to the death: a term derived from the practice in justs and tournaments of breaking a fixed number of lances, striking a fixed number of sword-blows, and the like, from which custom the combat à outrance was to be distinguished.
Wiktionary
- n. obsolete The furthest degree or extremity, going beyond bounds or propriety.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The utmost or last extremity.
Etymologies
- From Old French oltrance (modern oltrance), from outrer ("pass beyond"), from oltre, outre, utre, from Late Latin ultra-. Compare outrage. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“But if the shield was touched with the sharp end of the lance, the combat was understood to be at outrance, that is, the knights were to fight with sharp weapons, as in actual battle.”
“But if the shield was touched with the sharp end of the lance, the combat was understood to be at "outrance", that is, the knights were to fight with sharp weapons, as in actual battle.”
“It was an era of guerre a outrance, or war without limit, with Nazi Germany and the Axis Powers, and then the Soviet Union and its satellites, threatening America's and the West's liberal democratic values and our, and our allies', very existence.”
“Charteris of Kinfauns will do battle with him to the outrance, whilst horse and man may stand, or spear and blade hold together.”
“Turnbull perceived her intention, and caught hold of her with no very gentle grasp, saying — “Nay, lady, it is to be understood that you play your own part in the drama, which, unless you continue on the stage, will conclude unsatisfactorily to us all, in a combat at outrance between your lover and me, when it will appear which of us is most worthy of your favour.””
“Know ye that valiancy lieth in endurance of outrance and that no case is so strait but that the”
“Or, “though the Phocians maintained a war ‘a outrance’ with him.””
“But if the shield was touched with the sharp end of the lance, the combat was understood to be at “outrance”, that is, the knights were to fight with sharp weapons, as in actual battle.”
“But if the shield was touched with the sharp end of the lance, the combat was understood to be at _outrance_, [46-3] that is, the knights were to fight with sharp weapons, as in actual battle.”
“I must, in that case, be prepared to wage a war a outrance, in which there would be no quarter allowed, on _one_ side at least.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘outrance’.
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phrontistery - o
from phrontistery.info
oakum, oakus, oast, obambulate, obdormition, obduracy, obedible, obedientiary, obeism, obeliscolychny, obelize, obelus and 504 more...
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spread out, spacious words of spe
words pertaining to the root spe- (hope) with some allegorical liberties.
paten, pan, pass, patent, petal, expand, repand, passacaglia, passe, paseo, paella, spawn and 150 more...
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litany of lexical likes
words I find interesting or that stuck in my head or that I want to revisit at some point
loblolly, animadvert, misoneism, outrance, chokedamp, appropinquate, noesis, cataphor, flabbergastment, godforsaken, mendacity, sussurus and 90 more...
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Words to remember
adventive, affectation, ambiguous, anachronism, anesis, antithetic, apostasy, attenuate, authenticity, autodidact, -fic, bandolier and 146 more...
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Freerice
katabatic, cozen, depurate, entelechy, torrefy, talion, springhalt, spatchcock, poleyn, syncope, leister, palladium and 51 more...
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perhapsolutely's Words
polyradiculoneuro..., abulia, abubble, abscission, abaft, zareba, abatis, abigail, abiogenesis, ablate, ablaut, abo and 1705 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for outrance.
bilby Ausgang!
In the event of an alarm sounding, patrons are kindly requested to leave calmly by the nearest outrance. Feb 16, 2009
myth Hmmm ... They couldn't use a better definition for this? It means to the death.
(n)The utmost or last extremity. Feb 16, 2009