Editing Melee (section)

{{Short description|Hand-to-hand combat}}
{{Other uses}}
{{wiktionary|melee|mêlée}}
A '''melee''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|eɪ|l|eɪ}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|l|eɪ}}) is a confused [[hand-to-hand combat|hand-to-hand fight]] among several people. The English term ''melee'' originated circa 1648 from the French word ''{{lang|fr|mêlée}}'' ({{IPA|fr|mɛle|lang}}), derived from the Old French ''mesler'', from which ''[[:wikt:medley|medley]]'' and ''[[:wikt:meddle|meddle]]'' were also derived.<ref name="Merriam">{{cite web |title=Definition of melee |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302095052/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melee |archive-date=2 March 2021 |access-date=10 June 2017 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref>

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 ''{{lang|fr|mêlée}}'', respectively.<ref>{{cite book |title=The American Kriegsspiel |author=W. R. Livermore |publisher=Riverside Press, Cambridge |year=1882 |page=105 |quote="The first point to be considered is the number of combatants on either side and the relative advantages under which they are fighting; the second the losses and duration of the melee" |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2013/20130610001am/20130610001am.pdf |access-date=2019-08-14 |archive-date=2020-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604195240/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2013/20130610001am/20130610001am.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wells">{{cite book |author=H.G. Wells |url=https://archive.org/details/littlewarsgamefo00well |title=Little Wars |publisher=Frank Palmer Publishing |year=1913 |quote="We did at last contrive to do so ; we invented what we call the melee, and our revised rules in the event of a melee will be found set out upon a later page"}}</ref> The term was brought over to [[tabletop role-playing game]]s such as ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', and in turn to [[role-playing video game]]s, to describe any close-combat encounter.<ref name="Tresca">{{cite book |author=Michael J. Tresca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H8bzqj6S4sC&q=melee&pg=PA60 |title=The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games |date=November 10, 2010 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786460090 |access-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327030807/https://books.google.com/books?id=8H8bzqj6S4sC&q=melee&pg=PA60 |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>