escuadrón

Forms

escuadrón m (plural escuadrones)^[1] It was often spelt esquadrón in the 15th and 16th centuries.^[2][3]

Etymology

Corominas thinks it is probably borrowed from Italian squadrone, which is found in Machiavelli and which also gave French escadron at the end of the 15th century.^[4][5][1] The DLE and Wiktionary instead treat it as formed in Spanish, from Spanish escuadra (“squad”) + -ón, with the augmentative suffix.^[6][1]

The Italian word is an augmentative of squadra (“squad, team”), from the verb squadrare (“to square”).^[7] Nocentini traces the verb to Vulgar Latin *exquadrāre, from Latin quadrō (“to make square”) with the prefix ex-.^[8] The Latin verb is from quadrus (“square”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest CDH hit is the Crónica del halconero de Juan II (before 1454), known only from a 16th-century copy: salieron seys esquadrones grandes “six large squadrons came out”.^[2] Corominas dates it to the end of the 15th century, in the chronicle of Enrique IV;^[9] Alonso Maldonado's chronicle of about 1492 speaks of a commander and todo su escuadrón “all his troop”.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

At first it was a body of soldiers drawn up in ranks for battle.^[2][9] In the Americas it is recorded from 1533, often of bodies of Indian warriors.^[3] Terreros defined it as a body of cavalry drawn up for battle, and recorded escuadrón volante for a group of cardinals in a conclave who stand apart from the courts' interests.^[10] The Academy's 1899 dictionary made it a division of a cavalry regiment, and gave the older senses “troop formed in ranks” and “part of an army of infantry and cavalry”.^[9] It has also become a unit of the air force, equivalent to a battalion.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1454 – esquadrones in the Crónica del halconero, in a 16th-century copy.^[2]
• c. 1492 – escuadrón in Alonso Maldonado's chronicle of the Master of Alcántara.^[2]
• end of the 15th century – Corominas's first record, in the chronicle of Enrique IV.^[4][5]
• 1533 – first record from the Americas, in Cartagena.^[3]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros defines it as a body of cavalry and records escuadrón volante.^[10]
• 1899 – the Academy gives its etymology as the augmentative of escuadra.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (military) A cavalry unit (caballería), normally commanded by a captain; a squadron.^[6][1]
2. (military) An air unit equivalent to a ground battalion (batallón).^[6]
3. (military) An air unit of a large number of aircraft.^[6]
4. (military) A body of troops drawn up in ranks according to the rules of tactics.^[6]

Word family

• escuadronar

Related words

• escuadra
• escuadrilla
• cuadro
• Italian squadrone
• French escadron

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. escuadrón
3. ^ a b c Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. escuadrón
4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 255
5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cuadro
6. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. escuadrón
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. squadrone
8. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. squadrare
9. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 419
10. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 2, 87