---
title: joust — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «joust» in the school dictionary: To joust was to fight on horseback with long wooden poles called lances, as knights did in the Middle Ages, often as a sport at tournaments. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# joust

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** long wooden poles, knights, joust, people, knight, We · **What happens:** joust, fight, call, do, be, mean · **To what, where:** horseback, lances, Middle Ages, one such contest, debate, front · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«joust» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [joust in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/joust.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To joust was to fight on horseback with long wooden poles called lances, as knights did in the Middle Ages, often as a sport at tournaments.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:m1:1
# text = To joust was to fight on horseback with long wooden poles called lances, as knights did in the Middle Ages, often as a sport at tournaments.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	joust	joust	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	fight	fight	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	horseback	horseback	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
10	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	poles	pole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
12	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
13	lances	lance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
16	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	nsubj	_	_
17	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	Middle	Middle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	21	flat	_	_
21	Ages	Age	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
23	often	often	ADV	RB	_	26	advmod	_	_
24	as	as	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
27	at	at	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	tournaments	tournament	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joust** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | as a sport at tournaments | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **fight** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | horseback |  | with long wooden poles | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with pole=Co-Agent |
| 3 | **call** | participle | long wooden poles *not said here* | lances |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **do** | past | knights |  |  |  | in the Middle Ages |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A joust is one such contest between two knights.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:m2:1
# text = A joust is one such contest between two knights.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	joust	joust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
5	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	contest	contest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	between	between	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a joust | one such contest |  |  |  | between two knights | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To joust can also mean to argue or compete, as people do in a debate.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:m3:1
# text = To joust can also mean to argue or compete, as people do in a debate.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	joust	joust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	argue	argue	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	compete	compete	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
12	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
13	do	do	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	debate	debate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | joust |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **argue** *speech: disagree* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | joust *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **compete** | infinitive | joust *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **do** | present | people |  |  | a debate |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knights jousted in front of the king.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x1:1
# text = The knights jousted in front of the king.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	jousted	joust	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	front	front	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joust** | past | the knights |  |  | front of the king |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each knight tried to knock the other off his horse in the joust.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x2:1
# text = Each knight tried to knock the other off his horse in the joust.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	knock	knock	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	obj	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	joust	joust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | each knight |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **knock off** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | each knight *not said here* | the other |  | the joust |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We watched a jousting show at the castle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x3:1
# text = We watched a jousting show at the castle.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	watched	watch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	jousting	joust	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | past | We | a jousting show |  | the castle |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent show=Theme |
| 2 | **joust** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Jousting was a dangerous sport.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x4:1
# text = Jousting was a dangerous sport.
1	Jousting	joust	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	dangerous	dangerous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joust** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past |  | a dangerous sport |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knight's lance broke during the joust.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x5:1
# text = The knight's lance broke during the joust.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	lance	lance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	during	during	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	joust	joust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | past | the knight's lance |  |  |  | during the joust |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two candidates jousted on television.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x6:1
# text = The two candidates jousted on television.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	candidates	candidate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	jousted	joust	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	television	television	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joust** | participle |  | the two candidates *not said here* |  | television |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the young squire won his first joust.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x7:1
# text = In the story, the young squire won his first joust.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	squire	squire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
10	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	11	amod	_	_
11	joust	joust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | the young squire | squire's first joust |  | the story |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent joust=Eventuality |
| 2 | **joust** |  | squire |  |  |  |  |  | nom joust «event intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Jousting knights wore heavy armour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:joust:x8:1
# text = Jousting knights wore heavy armour.
1	Jousting	joust	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	csubj	_	_
2	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	wore	wear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	armour	armour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joust** | gerund |  | knights |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **wear** | past | Jousting | heavy armour |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.source»: agent=Agent armour=Source |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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