BATTAL'ION, noun [See Battle.] A body of infantry, consisting of from 500 to 800 men; so called from being originally a body of men arrayed for battle. A battalion is generally a body of troops next below a regiment. Sometimes a battalion composed a regiment; more generally a regiment consists of two or more battalions. Shakespeare used the word for and army.
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Webster's Dictionary 1828
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.