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battalion

 - 3 dictionary results

bat⋅tal⋅ion

  [buh-tal-yuhn]
Use battalion in a Sentence
–noun
1. Military. a ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.
2. an army in battle array.
3. Often, battalions. a large number of persons or things; force: battalions of bureaucrats.
Origin:
1580–90; < MF bataillon < It battaglione large squadron of soldiers, equiv. to battagli(a) battaglia + -one aug. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To battalion
bat·tal·ion   (bə-tāl'yən)   
n.  

    1. An army unit typically consisting of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar subunits.

    2. A large body of organized troops.

  2. A great number: battalions of ants.


[French bataillon, from Old French, from Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia, from Vulgar Latin *battalia; see battle.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

battalion 
1589, from M.Fr. bataillon, from It. battaglione "battle squadron," from dim. of V.L. battalia "battle," from L. bauttere "to beat" (see batter (v.)). Specific sense of "part of a regiment" is from 1708.
"Madame, lui répondit-il, ne vous y fiez pas: j'ay tôujours vû Dieu do coté des gros Barallions." [E.Boursault, 1702]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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