I’ve read that the term dogfight wasn’t used until 1919. What did the Germans, British, and French call dogfights during 1914-1918?

Thanks.

Nowi

A damn good scrap with the Hun!

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a fight
a scrap
a scrape
a go round
a roundy-round
a row
a dustup
a tangle
a free-for-all
a brouhaha
a brush
a go to
a dance
a twisty-turny
a tussle
an encounter
a tête-à-tête
a scuffle
a show
an argy-bargy
a barney
a mix-up


just to name a few

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Terrifying.

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yes, that too

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In French : combat tournoyant

A turning fight was, for a German, a Kurvenkampf.

I'm working from memory here, but I'm sure have read accounts by at least one WW1 British pilot who said the word dogfight was used for a particularly large, 1918-style scrap. So I suspect it was in use by war's end, but just didn't appear in print until 1919.