batallón

battalion

noun bah-tah-YOHN Rare

Origin: From French bataillon, from Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia (battle).

Usage Note

Batallón is a military unit typically numbering several hundred soldiers, larger than a compañía (company) but smaller than a regimiento (regiment). Informally, un batallón is used hyperbolically to mean a large crowd: llegó con un batallón de periodistas. Note the written accent on the final syllable.

Examples

"El batallón cruzó la frontera al amanecer."

Natural Translation

The battalion crossed the border at dawn.

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