battalion

C2+ Topic:The Human Body

US /bəˈtæljən/ UK /bəˈtæliən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a large body of troops, typically several companies

An entire battalion was deployed to hold the ridge.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a large body of troops,... unit regiment corps force host division army

Word family

Related forms battlebattalia

Simplified etymology

Battalion entered English in the late 16th century and goes back through French to Latin battuere, “to strike” or “beat.” It belongs to the same historical word family as battle, batter, battery, and combat.

Etymology

From French bataillon, from Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia ('battle, troop'), from Vulgar Latin battalia, from Latin battuere ('to beat').

bataillon French battaglia Italian battuere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# battalion

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bəˈtæljən/
**IPA (UK):** /bəˈtæliən/

## Meanings
1. a large body of troops, typically several companies

## Examples
- An entire battalion was deployed to hold the ridge.

## Synonyms
- unit
- regiment
- corps
- force
- host
- division
- army

## Related Forms
- battle
- battalia

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bataillon
- Root: battaglia
- Root: battuere

## Etymology
From French bataillon, from Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia ('battle, troop'), from Vulgar Latin battalia, from Latin battuere ('to beat').

## AI Etymology
battalion comes from French bataillon, from Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia ('battle, troop'), from Vulgar Latin battalia, from Latin battuere ('to beat'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "a large body of troops, typically several companies", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as battle, battalia, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include French bataillon, Italian battaglia, Latin battuere, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- The Human Body
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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