Confligere

Confligere is a Latin verb of the third conjugation meaning to strike together or clash, and more broadly to contend or be in conflict. It covers both physical clashes, such as battles or impacts, and figurative struggles between people, ideas, or factions. In usage it can be transitive (to strike something against another object) or intransitive (to clash or contend). The sense of conflict can apply to bodies fighting, as well as to disputes or competing interests.

Principal parts and morphology: conflīgō, conflīgere, conflixī, conflīctum. The verb is active with standard third-conjugation morphology; the participle conflīctus appears in compound constructions and as an adjective in some contexts. As with many Latin verbs, forms vary with voice and mood, but confligere remains recognizable across classical and late Latin texts.

Semantics and context: confligere is commonly used to describe physical opposition in military or athletic settings, as well as abstract clashes such as debates, rivalries, or moral conflicts. Its range includes both direct confrontation and the broader notion of incompatible or opposing forces.

Etymology and related terms: the word is built from the prefix con- meaning “together” plus a root linked to striking or clashing. It is cognate with English conflict, which derives from related Latin forms such as conflīctus and confligere.

In classical Latin, confligere appears in prose and poetry to convey both literal combat and figurative opposition, making it a versatile term for describing clashes of any kind.