the.com/scuffle

means A brief, messy, disorganized struggle or fight, usually at close quarters and more flailing than fighting.

from Scuffle emerged in the 1500s, likely as a frequentative form related to 'shove' or 'shuffle' — the '-le' ending in English often signals repeated, scrappy action (think 'wrestle,' 'tussle'). It's probably a cousin of 'shuffle,' both suggesting feet dragging and bodies jostling rather than clean, decisive blows. The sound of the word does a lot of the work: it scrapes and stumbles, much like the thing it describes.