melee

This is one of those words that I don't know the preferred pronunciation so I will alternate between the two most common, unknowingly.

Let's call the whole thing off. ;->

Some say mee-LEE, I say meh-LAY.

Merriam Webster's Third International gives five pronunciations, so appropriately it's a free-for-all. Just don't pronounced it Millay, as in Edna St. Vincent.

Is that an acute fling or a grave fling? ;->

Any words that have accents and little pointy hats and other stuff are bound to lose those in the move to more common usage in English. We don't like us no pointy-hatted Franche words.

I can't say which is "more" or "less" correct. I was just wondering if anyone had listed the version with the accent on it--which I will now call a fling because that's the noise it makes in my brain when I write one--and then discovered that yeah, I listed it. *sheepish*

I don't think it's a question of degree of correctness. It almost depends on which dictionary you're checking. Apparently several pronunciations are correct (according to several dictionaries).

C_b: I've also seen it as mêlée in some references.

but which is more correct? Oddly, I think the French pronounciation emphasizes both syllables, which makes it sound like there is more emphasis on the second syllable (to our American ears).

Why am I not surprised that you have stage-combat buddies, chained_bear?

All my stage-combat buddies say it the way I do: MEH-lay (or MAY-lay, if you have trouble imagining that).

Edit: Isn't it actually melée? (Not to be too much of a fussbudget.)

I pronounce it like may-lay but I know a lot of people who pronounce it mee-lee which just sounds plain wrong.

how do you guys pronounce it?

Fight! Fight! Fight!