battalion English · revision 39510

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1589, P. Ive's translation of R. Beccarie de Pavie|origins=la battuō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /bəˈtæl.i.ən/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /bəˈtæl.jən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|bataillon]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|it|battaglione|t=battle squadron]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) formed on [[m|it|battaglia|t=battle; company of soldiers]] with the augmentative suffix;^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) the OED calls the suffix augmentative or diminutive.^(OED 2026) The Italian noun comes from [[la-lat|battālia]] (Vulgar Latin, according to the American Heritage Dictionary), from [[m|la|battuō|t=to beat]], the source of [[battle]] and [[batter]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) In English the word took over from ''battle'' in its old sense "a company of troops", recorded from about 1225.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A large body of soldiers in battle array, one of the main divisions of an army: 1589, in P. Ive's translation of R. Beccarie de Pavie.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative use, a large array or host, appears from 1603, in Florio's translation of Montaigne,^(OED 2026) and Johnson (1755) quoted ''Hamlet'': "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions".^(Johnson 1755) Johnson defined the word as a division of an army, adding that it was by then confined to the infantry and usually numbered five to eight hundred men.^(Johnson 1755) The specific sense, a body of infantry made up of several companies and forming part of a regiment, is recorded from 1708,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) while the sense "main body of an army" lasted only from 1653 to 1656.^(OED 2026) A verb, to form into a battalion, appears in 1865 but stayed rare.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – ''bataille'', a company of troops, the earlier word it replaced.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1589 – a large body of troops in battle array.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1603 – figurative, a large group.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1653 – the main body of an army (until 1656).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1708 – a unit of infantry forming part of a regiment.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – the saying about God and the big battalions in English.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1865 – the verb, to form into a battalion.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A military [[unit]] made up of a headquarters and two or more [[company|alt=companies]] or similar units, usually forming part of a [[brigade]] or [[regiment]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large body of troops organized to act together; an [[army]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A large number of people or things, often with a common purpose: ''Battalions of volunteers cleared the beach.''^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # (rare) To form into a battalion or battalions.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[battle]]

+ * [[batter]]

+ * [[battalia]]

+ * [[battery]]

+ * [[combat]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The saying "God is on the side of the big battalions", in many variants, is usually credited to the 17th-century French marshal Turenne,^(Etymonline) and Etymonline quotes it from Boursault (1702).^(Etymonline) The OED records English allusions to it from 1842.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}