compete – Comes from Latin competere, “come together,” but in later Latin, it developed the sense “strive together,” which was the basis for the English term. More…
repugn, repugnant – Repugn means “to strive against” or “be contradictory or inconsistent,” giving us repugnant. More…
strive – Seems to be from Old French estriver, “quarrel, strive.” More…
win – Its Germanic base gave it its first meaning, “to labor, strive, work.” More…