Battalion \Bat*tal"ion\ (b[a^]t*t[a^]l"y[u^]n; 106), n. [F.
bataillon, fr. It. battaglione. See Battalia.]
1. A body of troops; esp. a body of troops or an army in
battle array. [archaic] "The whole battalion views."
--Milton.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. (Mil.) An infantry command of two or more companies, which
is the tactical unit of the infantry, or the smallest
command which is self-supporting upon the battlefield, and
also the unit in which the strength of the infantry of an
army is expressed.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In the United States army, since April 29, 1898, a
battalion consists of four companies, and three
battalions form a regiment. The term is also applied to
two or more batteries of artillery combined into a
single command.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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75 Moby Thesaurus words for "battalion":
KP, age group, army, army group, band, battery, battle group, bevy,
body, brigade, bunch, cabal, cadre, cast, clique, cohort, column,
combat command, combat team, company, complement, contingent,
corps, coterie, covey, crew, crowd, detachment, detail, division,
faction, field army, field train, file, fleet, flying column, gang,
garrison, group, grouping, groupment, in-group, junta,
kitchen police, legion, maniple, mob, movement, organization,
out-group, outfit, pack, party, peer group, phalanx, platoon,
posse, rank, regiment, salon, section, set, squad, squadron,
stable, string, tactical unit, task force, team, train, tribe,
troop, troupe, unit, wing
Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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