[f. BOX sb.3 According to Mätzner, Franck, Kluge, etc., the mod.Du boxen, LG. baksen, baaksen, Ger. bazen, boxen, Da. baxe, Sw. baxas, boxas, are all from English.]
1. trans. orig. To beat, thrash; later, to strike with the fist, to cuff, to buffet: now usually, to strike (the cheek, ear, etc.) with the hand.
1519. Horman, Vulg., 137. § 17. He was boxed out of the place: as he had been a started hare.
1589. R. Harvey, Pl. Perc., 12. To boxe a shadowe, and beate their knuckels against a bare wall.
1601. Sir J. Ogle, in Sir F. Vere, Comm., 150. He … must sit with his hands bound, whilest boyes and devils come and box him about the ears.
a. 1661. Holyday, Juvenal, 206. Xerxes commanded them to give the sea 300 strokes with a scourge, and to box it.
1666. Pepys, Diary, 20 Jan. I become angry, and boxed my boy … that I do hurt my thumb.
1704. Steele, Lying Lover, II. (1747), 31. Lettice—I’ll down right box you—Hold your Tongue, Gipsy.
1783. Ainsworth, Lat. Dict. (Morell), I. s.v. Ear, Boxed on the ear, colaphis, vel alapis, cæsus.
1837. Disraeli, Venetia, I. ix. (1871), 42. Attempting to box her son’s ears.
1876. Black, Madcap Violet, i. 3. I’ve a good mind to box your ears.
fig. 1674. R. Godfrey, Inj. & Ab. Physic, 29. To have our ears weekly boxt about with the Philosophers-stone, Horizontal Gold and Noble Mercury.
2. intr. To fight with fists; now mostly of purely athletic practice with boxing-gloves.
1567. Studley, Seneca’s Hippolytus (1581), 64 b. The naked Fist found out To scratch and cuffe, to boxe and bum.
1682. Dryden, Epil. Banks’ Unhappy Fav., 33. ’Tis just like children when they box with pillows.
1765. Tucker, Lt. Nat., II. 170. Two men boxing together in the next street.
1790. Cowper, Odyss., VIII. 124. To leap, to box, to wrestle and to run.
1819. Byron, Juan, II. xcii. For sometimes we must box without the muffle.
a. 1859. De Quincey, Autobiog. Sk., Wks. I. 36. To box … was in those days a mere necessity of schoolboy life at public schools.
b. To box it out, etc.: cf. to fight it out.
1697. Collier, Ess. Mor. Subj., I. (1709), 132. Clowns may Box it off, and be quiet.
1702. De Foe, More Reform., Pref. 2. The Englishmen fairly Box it out.
3. trans. To fight (another) with fists.
1694. R. L’Estrange, Fables (1699), 343. The Ass … look’d on, till they had box’d themselves a weary.
1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, XVI. ii. Box thee for a bellyfull.
1803. Bristed, Pedest. Tour, I. 359. If they were to … box each other.
4. transf. To strike with the fore-paw.
1681. Grew, Musæum, I. 12 (J.). His [a leopard’s] actions is like a Cats; he boxes with his fore-feet, as a Cat doth her Kitlins.
