dare battaglia

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to give battle”.

Verb

dàre battaglia (first-person singular present (with syntactic gemination after the verb) dò battaglia, first-person singular past historic dièdi battaglia or diédi battaglia or détti battaglia or (traditional) dètti battaglia, past participle dàto battaglia, first-person singular future darò battaglia, first-person singular subjunctive dìa battaglia, first-person singular imperfect subjunctive déssi battaglia, second-person singular imperative dài battaglia or dà' battaglia, auxiliary avére) (intransitive)

1. to give battle
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 7, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Eppure, continuava a dare battaglia, sposando appieno la sua nuova posizione di sfavorita.

     And yet she soldiered on, embracing her underdog status.

     (literally, “And yet, she continued to give battle, fully embracing her new disfavored position.”)

2. to work strenuously to establish oneself, especially in a competition; to make a name for oneself