Chapter 80

Bas"set (bs"st), a. [Cf. OF. basset somewhat low, dim. of bas low.] (Geol.) Inclined upward; as, the basset edge of strata. Lyell.

Bas"set, n. (Geol.) The edge of a geological stratum at the surface of the ground; the outcrop.

Bas"set, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Basseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basseting.] (Geol.) To incline upward so as to appear at the surface; to crop out; as, a vein of coal bassets.

Bas"set horn` (hôrn`). [See Basset, a.] (Mus.) An instrument blown with a reed, and resembling a clarinet, but of much greater compass, embracing nearly four octaves.

Bas"set hound` (&?;). [F. basset.] (Zoöl.) A small kind of hound with a long body and short legs, used as an earth dog.

Bas"set*ing, n. The upward direction of a vein in a mine; the emergence of a stratum at the surface.

||Bas*set"to (&?;), n. [It., adj., somewhat low; n., counter tenor. See Basso.] (Mus.) A tenor or small bass viol.

Bass" horn" (&?;). (Mus.) A modification of the bassoon, much deeper in tone.

Bas"si*net (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bassinet, dim. of bassin. See Basin, and cf. Bascinet.] 1. A wicker basket, with a covering or hood over one end, in which young children are placed as in a cradle.

2. See Bascinet. Lord Lytton.

||Bas"so (&?;), n. [It., fr. LL. bassus. See Base, a.] (Mus.) (a) The bass or lowest part; as, to sing basso. (b) One who sings the lowest part. (c) The double bass, or contrabasso.

||Basso continuo (&?;). [It., bass continued.] (Mus.) A bass part written out continuously, while the other parts of the harmony are indicated by figures attached to the bass; continued bass.

Bas"sock (&?;), n. A hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.

Bas*soon" (&?;), n. [F. basson, fr. basse bass; or perh. fr. bas son low sound. See Bass a part in music. ] (Mus.) A wind instrument of the double reed kind, furnished with holes, which are stopped by the fingers, and by keys, as in flutes. It forms the natural bass to the oboe, clarinet, etc.

Its compass comprehends three octaves. For convenience of carriage it is divided into two parts; whence it is also called a fagot.

Bas*soon"ist, n. A performer on the bassoon. Busby.

{ ||Bas"so-ri*lie"vo (&?;), Bas"so-re*lie"vo } (&?;), n. [It. basso-rilievo.] Same as Bas- relief.

Bas"so*rin (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bassorine.] (Chem.) A constituent part of a species of gum from Bassora, as also of gum tragacanth and some gum resins. It is one of the amyloses. Ure.

Bass"-re*lief` (&?;), n. Same as Bas- relief.

Bass" vi`ol (&?;). (Mus.) A stringed instrument of the viol family, used for playing bass. See 3d Bass, n., and Violoncello.

Bass"wood` (&?;), n. (Bot.) The bass (Tilia) or its wood; especially, T. Americana. See Bass, the lime tree.

All the bowls were made of basswood, White and polished very smoothly. Longfellow.

Bast (&?;), n. [AS. bæst; akin to Icel., Sw., Dan., D., & G. bast, of unknown origin. Cf. Bass the tree.] 1. The inner fibrous bark of various plants; esp. of the lime tree; hence, matting, cordage, etc., made therefrom.

2. A thick mat or hassock. See 2d Bass, 2.

||Bas"ta (&?;), interj. [It.] Enough; stop. Shak.

Bas"tard (&?;), n. [OF. bastard, bastart, F. b&?;tard, prob. fr. OF. bast, F. b&?;t, a packsaddle used as a bed by the muleteers (fr. LL. bastum) + -ard. OF. fils de bast son of the packsaddle; as the muleteers were accustomed to use their saddles for beds in the inns. See Cervantes, "Don Quixote," chap. 16; and cf.G. bankert, fr. bank bench.] 1. A "natural" child; a child begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate child; one born of an illicit union.

By the civil and canon laws, and by the laws of many of the United States, a bastard becomes a legitimate child by the intermarriage of the parents at any subsequent time. But by those of England, and of some states of the United States, a child, to be legitimate, must at least be born after the lawful marriage. Kent. Blackstone.

2. (Sugar Refining) (a) An inferior quality of soft brown sugar, obtained from the sirups that have already had several boilings. (b) A large size of mold, in which sugar is drained.

3. A sweet Spanish wine like muscadel in flavor.

Brown bastard is your only drink. Shak.

4. A writing paper of a particular size. See Paper.

Bas"tard (&?;), a. 1. Begotten and born out of lawful matrimony; illegitimate. See Bastard, n., note.

2. Lacking in genuineness; spurious; false; adulterate; -- applied to things which resemble those which are genuine, but are really not so.

That bastard self-love which is so vicious in itself, and productive of so many vices. Barrow.

3. Of an unusual make or proportion; as, a bastard musket; a bastard culverin. [Obs.]

4. (Print.) Abbreviated, as the half title in a page preceding the full title page of a book.

Bastard ashlar (Arch.), stones for ashlar work, roughly squared at the quarry. -- Bastard file, a file intermediate between the coarsest and the second cut. -- Bastard type (Print.), type having the face of a larger or a smaller size than the body; e. g., a nonpareil face on a brevier body. -- Bastard wing (Zoöl.), three to five quill feathers on a small joint corresponding to the thumb in some mammalia; the alula.

Bas"tard, v. t. To bastardize. [Obs.] Bacon.

Bas"tard*ism (&?;), n. The state of being a bastard; bastardy.

Bas"tard*ize (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastardized (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bastardizing.] 1. To make or prove to be a bastard; to stigmatize as a bastard; to declare or decide legally to be illegitimate.

The law is so indulgent as not to bastardize the child, if born, though not begotten, in lawful wedlock. Blackstone.

2. To beget out of wedlock. [R.] Shak.

Bas"tard*ly, a. Bastardlike; baseborn; spurious; corrupt. [Obs.] -- adv. In the manner of a bastard; spuriously. [Obs.] Shak. Donne.

Bas"tar*dy (&?;), n. 1. The state of being a bastard; illegitimacy.

2. The procreation of a bastard child. Wharton.

Baste (bst), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Basted; p. pr. & vb. n. Basting.] [Cf. Icel. beysta to strike, powder; Sw. basa to beat with a rod: perh. akin to E. beat.] 1. To beat with a stick; to cudgel.

One man was basted by the keeper for carrying some people over on his back through the waters. Pepys.

2. (Cookery) To sprinkle flour and salt and drip butter or fat on, as on meat in roasting.

3. To mark with tar, as sheep. [Prov. Eng.]

Baste, v. t. [OE. basten, OF. bastir, F. b&?;tir, prob. fr. OHG. bestan to sew, MHG. besten to bind, fr. OHG. bast bast. See Bast.] To sew loosely, or with long stitches; -- usually, that the work may be held in position until sewed more firmly. Shak.

{ Bas*tile" Bas*tille" } (bs*tl" or bs"tl; 277), n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. bâtir.]

1. (Feud. Fort.) A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place.

The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls. Holland.

2. "The Bastille", formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison.

Bas`ti*nade" (&?;), n. See Bastinado, n.

Bas`ti*nade", v. t. To bastinado. [Archaic]

Bas`ti*na"do (&?;), n.; pl. Bastinadoes (&?;). [Sp. bastonada (cf. F. bastonnade), fr. baston (cf. F. bâton) a stick or staff. See Baston.]

1. A blow with a stick or cudgel.

2. A sound beating with a stick or cudgel. Specifically: A form of punishment among the Turks, Chinese, and others, consisting in beating an offender on the soles of his feet.

Bas`ti*na"do, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bastinadoed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bastinadoing.] To beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles of the feet.

Bas"tion (bs"chn; 106), n. [F. bastion (cf. It. bastione), fr. LL. bastire to build (cf. F. bâtir, It. bastire), perh. from the idea of support for a weight, and akin to Gr. basta`zein to lift, carry, and to E. baston, baton.] (Fort.) A work projecting outward from the main inclosure of a fortification, consisting of two faces and two flanks, and so constructed that it is able to defend by a flanking fire the adjacent curtain, or wall which extends from one bastion to another. Two adjacent bastions are connected by the curtain, which joins the flank of one with the adjacent flank of the other. The distance between the flanks of a bastion is called the gorge. A lunette is a detached bastion. See Ravelin.

Bas"tioned (&?;), a. Furnished with a bastion; having bastions.

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Bas"to (bs"t), n. [Sp.] The ace of clubs in quadrille and omber. Pope.

Bas"ton (bs"tn), n. [OF. baston, F. bâton, LL. basto. See Bastion, and cf. Baton, and 3d Batten.]

1. A staff or cudgel. [Obs.] "To fight with blunt bastons." Holland.

2. (Her.) See Baton.

3. An officer bearing a painted staff, who formerly was in attendance upon the king's court to take into custody persons committed by the court. Mozley & W.

Bas"yle (bs"l or bs"l), n. [Gr. ba`sis base + "y`lh wood. See -yl.] (Chem.) A positive or nonacid constituent of a compound, either elementary, or, if compound, performing the functions of an element.

Bas"y*lous (&?;), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, a basyle; electro-positive; basic; -- opposed to chlorous. Graham.

Bat (bt), n. [OE. batte, botte, AS. batt; perhaps fr. the Celtic; cf. Ir. bat, bata, stick, staff; but cf. also F. batte a beater (thing), wooden sword, battre to beat.]

1. A large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.

2. (Mining) Shale or bituminous shale. Kirwan.

3. A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.

4. A part of a brick with one whole end.

Bat bolt (Machinery), a bolt barbed or jagged at its butt or tang to make it hold the more firmly. Knight.

Bat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Batted (bt"td); p. pr. & vb. n. Batting.] To strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat. Holland.

Bat, v. i. To use a bat, as in a game of baseball.

Bat, n. [Corrupt. from OE. back, backe, balke; cf. Dan. aften-bakke (aften evening), Sw. natt-backa (natt night), Icel. leðr- blaka (leðr leather), Icel. blaka to flutter.] (Zoöl.) One of the Cheiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. The common bats are small and insectivorous. See Cheiroptera and Vampire.

Silent bats in drowsy clusters cling.

Goldsmith.

Bat tick (Zoöl.), a wingless, dipterous insect of the genus Nycteribia, parasitic on bats.

Bat"a*ble (&?;), a. [Abbrev. from debatable.] Disputable. [Obs.]

The border land between England and Scotland, being formerly a subject of contention, was called batable or debatable ground.

Bat"ailled (&?;), a. Embattled. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Ba`tar*deau" (&?;), n. [F.] 1. A cofferdam. Brande & C.

2. (Mil.) A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall.

{ ||Ba*ta"tas (&?;), ||Ba*ta"ta (&?;), } n. An aboriginal American name for the sweet potato (Ipomæa batatas).

Ba*ta"vi*an (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to (a) the Batavi, an ancient Germanic tribe; or to (b) Batavia or Holland; as, a Batavian legion.

Batavian Republic, the name given to Holland by the French after its conquest in 1795.

Ba*ta"vi*an, n. A native or inhabitant of Batavia or Holland. [R.] Bancroft.

Batch (&?;), n. [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G. gebäck and D. baksel. See Bake, v. t.]

1. The quantity of bread baked at one time.

2. A quantity of anything produced at one operation; a group or collection of persons or things of the same kind; as, a batch of letters; the next batch of business. "A new batch of Lords." Lady M. W. Montagu.

Bate (&?;), n. [Prob. abbrev. from debate.] Strife; contention. [Obs.] Shak.

Bate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bating.] [From abate.] 1. To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower.

He must either bate the laborer's wages, or not employ or not pay him. Locke.

2. To allow by way of abatement or deduction.

To whom he bates nothing of what he stood upon with the parliament. South.

3. To leave out; to except. [Obs.]

Bate me the king, and, be he flesh and blood, He lies that says it. Beau. & Fl.

4. To remove. [Obs.]

About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay them bare. Holland.

5. To deprive of. [Obs.]

When baseness is exalted, do not bate The place its honor for the person's sake. Herbert.

Bate, v. i. 1. To remit or retrench a part; -- with of.

Abate thy speed, and I will bate of mine. Dryden.

2. To waste away. [Obs.] Shak.

Bate (&?;), v. t. To attack; to bait. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bate, imp. of Bite. [Obs.] Spenser.

Bate, v. i. [F. battre des ailes to flutter. Cf. Bait to flutter.] To flutter as a hawk; to bait. [Obs.] Bacon.

Bate, n. (Jewish Antiq.) See 2d Bath.

Bate, n. [Cf. Sw. beta maceration, soaking, G. beize, and E. bite.] An alkaline solution consisting of the dung of certain animals; -- employed in the preparation of hides; grainer. Knight.

Bate, v. t. To steep in bate, as hides, in the manufacture of leather.

||Ba*teau" (&?;), n.; pl. Bateaux (&?;). [F. bateau, LL. batellus, fr. battus, batus, boat, which agrees with AS. bt boat: cf. W. bad boat. See Boat, n.] A boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on the Canadian lakes and rivers. [Written also, but less properly, batteau.]

Bateau bridge, a floating bridge supported by bateaux.

Bat"ed (&?;), a. Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath. Macaulay.

Bate"ful (&?;), a. Exciting contention; contentious. [Obs.] "It did bateful question frame." Sidney.

Bate"less, a. Not to be abated. [Obs.] Shak.

Bate"ment (&?;), n. [For Abatement. See 2d Bate.] Abatement; diminution. Moxon.

Batement light (Arch.), a window or one division of a window having vertical sides, but with the sill not horizontal, as where it follows the rake of a staircase.

Bat"fish` (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A name given to several species of fishes: (a) The Malthe vespertilio of the Atlantic coast. (b) The flying gurnard of the Atlantic (Cephalacanthus spinarella). (c) The California batfish or sting ray (Myliobatis Californicus.)

Bat"fowl`er (&?;), n. One who practices or finds sport in batfowling.

Bat"fowl`ing (&?;), n. [From Bat a stick.] A mode of catching birds at night, by holding a torch or other light, and beating the bush or perch where they roost. The birds, flying to the light, are caught with nets or otherwise.

Bat"ful (bt"fl), a. [Icel. bati amelioration, batna to grow better; akin to AS. bet better. Goth. ga-batnan to profit. &radic;255. Cf. Batten, v. i., Better.] Rich; fertile. [Obs.] "Batful valleys." Drayton.

Bath (bth; 61), n.; pl. Baths (bz). [AS. bæð; akin to OS. & Icel. bað, Sw., Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. bähen to foment.] 1. The act of exposing the body, or part of the body, for purposes of cleanliness, comfort, health, etc., to water, vapor, hot air, or the like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip bath.

2. Water or other liquid for bathing.

3. A receptacle or place where persons may immerse or wash their bodies in water.

4. A building containing an apartment or a series of apartments arranged for bathing.

Among the ancients, the public baths were of amazing extent and magnificence. Gwilt.

5. (Chem.) A medium, as heated sand, ashes, steam, hot air, through which heat is applied to a body.

6. (Photog.) A solution in which plates or prints are immersed; also, the receptacle holding the solution.

Bath is used adjectively or in combination, in an obvious sense of or for baths or bathing; as, bathroom, bath tub, bath keeper.

Douche bath. See Douche. -- Order of the Bath, a high order of British knighthood, composed of three classes, viz., knights grand cross, knights commanders, and knights companions, abbreviated thus: G. C. B., K. C. B., K. B. -- Russian bath, a kind of vapor bath which consists in a prolonged exposure of the body to the influence of the steam of water, followed by washings and shampooings. -- Turkish bath, a kind of bath in which a profuse perspiration is produced by hot air, after which the body is washed and shampooed. -- Bath house, a house used for the purpose of bathing; -- also a small house, near a bathing place, where a bather undresses and dresses.

Bath (&?;), n. [Heb.] A Hebrew measure containing the tenth of a homer, or five gallons and three pints, as a measure for liquids; and two pecks and five quarts, as a dry measure.

Bath (&?;; 61), n. A city in the west of England, resorted to for its hot springs, which has given its name to various objects.

Bath brick, a preparation of calcareous earth, in the form of a brick, used for cleaning knives, polished metal, etc. -- Bath chair, a kind of chair on wheels, as used by invalids at Bath. "People walked out, or drove out, or were pushed out in their Bath chairs." Dickens. -- Bath metal, an alloy consisting of four and a half ounces of zinc and one pound of copper. -- Bath note, a folded writing paper, 8 1/2 by 14 inches. -- Bath stone, a species of limestone (oölite) found near Bath, used for building.

Bathe (b), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bathed (bd); p. pr. & vb. n. Bathing.] [OE. baðien, AS. baðian, fr. bæð bath. See 1st Bath, and cf. Bay to bathe.] 1. To wash by immersion, as in a bath; to subject to a bath.

Chancing to bathe himself in the River Cydnus. South.

2. To lave; to wet. "The lake which bathed the foot of the Alban mountain." T. Arnold.

3. To moisten or suffuse with a liquid.

And let us bathe our hands in Cæsar's blood. Shak.

4. To apply water or some liquid medicament to; as, to bathe the eye with warm water or with sea water; to bathe one's forehead with camphor.

5. To surround, or envelop, as water surrounds a person immersed. "The rosy shadows bathe me. " Tennyson. "The bright sunshine bathing all the world." Longfellow.

Bathe (&?;), v. i. 1. To bathe one's self; to take a bath or baths. "They bathe in summer." Waller.

2. To immerse or cover one's self, as in a bath. "To bathe in fiery floods." Shak. "Bathe in the dimples of her cheek." Lloyd.

3. To bask in the sun. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Bathe, n. The immersion of the body in water; as, to take one's usual bathe. Edin. Rev.

Bath"er (b"r), n. One who bathes.

Ba*thet"ic (&?;), a. Having the character of bathos. [R.]

Bath"ing (&?;), n. Act of taking a bath or baths.

Bathing machine, a small room on wheels, to be driven into the water, for the convenience of bathers, who undress and dress therein.

Bath"mism (&?;), n. See Vital force.

Ba*thom"e*ter (&?;), n. [Gr. ba`qos depth + -meter.] An instrument for measuring depths, esp. one for taking soundings without a sounding line.

Bat"horse` (&?;), n. [F. bât packsaddle (cheval de bât packhorse) + E. horse. See Bastard.] A horse which carries an officer's baggage during a campaign.

Ba"thos (b"ths), n. [Gr. ba`qos depth, fr. baqy`s deep.] (Rhet.) A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, in writing or speech; anticlimax.

||Ba*thyb"i*us (&?;), n. [NL., fr. Gr. baqy`s deep + bi`os life] (Zoöl.) A name given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.

{ Bath`y*met"ric (&?;), Bath`y*met"ric*al (&?;), } a. Pertaining to bathymetry; relating to the measurement of depths, especially of depths in the sea.

Ba*thym"e*try (&?;), n. [Gr. ba`qos depth + -metry.] The art or science of sounding, or measuring depths in the sea.

Bat"ing (&?;), prep. [Strictly p. pr. of Bate to abate.] With the exception of; excepting.

We have little reason to think that they bring many ideas with them, bating some faint ideas of hunger and thirst. Locke.

Ba*tiste" (&?;), n. [F. batiste, from the name of the alleged first maker, Baptiste of Cambrai. Littré.] Originally, cambric or lawn of fine linen; now applied also to cloth of similar texture made of cotton.

Bat"let (&?;), n. [Bat stick + - let.] A short bat for beating clothes in washing them; -- called also batler, batling staff, batting staff. Shak.

||Bat"man (bt"mn), n. [Turk. baman.] A weight used in the East, varying according to the locality; in Turkey, the greater batman is about 157 pounds, the lesser only a fourth of this; at Aleppo and Smyrna, the batman is 17 pounds. Simmonds.

Bat"man (b"man or bt"man), n.; pl. Batmen (-men). [F. bât packsaddle + E. man. Cf. Bathorse.] A man who has charge of a bathorse and his load. Macaulay.

||Ba*toi"de*i (&?;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ba`tos a kind of ray + -oid.] (Zoöl.) The division of fishes which includes the rays and skates.

Bat"on (bt"n, F. bä`tôN"; 277), n. [F. bâton. See Baston.] 1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances.

He held the baton of command. Prescott.

2. (Her.) An ordinary with its ends cut off, borne sinister as a mark of bastardy, and containing one fourth in breadth of the bend sinister; -- called also bastard bar. See Bend sinister.

Ba*toon" (&?;), n. See Baton, and Baston.

Bat" print`ing (&?;). (Ceramics) A mode of printing on glazed ware.

||Ba*tra"chi*a (&?;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. batra`cheios belonging to a frog, fr. ba`trachos frog.] (Zoöl.) The order of amphibians which includes the frogs and toads; the Anura. Sometimes the word is used in a wider sense as equivalent to Amphibia.

Ba*tra"chi*an (&?;), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Batrachia. -- n. One of the Batrachia.

Bat"ra*choid (&?;), a. [Batrachia + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Froglike. Specifically: Of or pertaining to the Batrachidæ, a family of marine fishes, including the toadfish. Some have poisonous dorsal spines.

Bat`ra*cho*my*om"a*chy (&?;), n. [Gr. batrachomyomachi`a; ba`trachos frog + my^s mouse + ma`chh battle.] The battle between the frogs and mice; -- a Greek parody on the Iliad, of uncertain authorship.

Bat`ra*choph"a*gous (&?;), a. [Gr. ba`trachos frog + fagei^n to eat.] Feeding on frogs. Quart. Rev.

Bats"man (&?;), n.; pl. Batsmen (&?;). The one who wields the bat in cricket, baseball, etc.

{Bat's"-wing" (&?;) or Bat"wing }, a. Shaped like a bat's wing; as, a bat's-wing burner.

||Bat"ta (bt"t), n. [Prob. through Pg. for Canarese bhatta rice in the husk.] Extra pay; esp. an extra allowance to an English officer serving in India. Whitworth.

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||Bat"ta (bt/"t), n. [Hind. baa.] Rate of exchange; also, the discount on uncurrent coins. [India]

Bat"ta*ble (&?;), a. [See Batful.] Capable of cultivation; fertile; productive; fattening. [Obs.] Burton.

Bat"tail*ant (&?;), a. [F. bataillant, p. pr. See Battle, v. i. ] [Obs.] Prepared for battle; combatant; warlike. Spenser. -- n. A combatant. Shelton.

Bat"tail*ous (&?;), a. [OF. bataillos, fr. bataille. See Battle, n.] Arrayed for battle; fit or eager for battle; warlike. [Obs.] "In battailous aspect." Milton.

Bat*tal"ia (bt*tl"y; 106), n. [LL. battalia battle, a body of troops. See Battle, n.] 1. Order of battle; disposition or arrangement of troops (brigades, regiments, battalions, etc.), or of a naval force, for action.

A drawing up the armies in battalia. Jer. Taylor.

2. An army in battle array; also, the main battalia or body. [Obs.] Shak.

Bat*tal"ion (-tl"yn; 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. "The whole battalion views." Milton.

2. (Mil.) A regiment, or two or more companies of a regiment, esp. when assembled for drill or battle.

Bat*tal"ion (&?;), v. t. To form into battalions. [R.]

Bat"tel (&?;), n. [Obs. form. of Battle.] (Old Eng. Law) A single combat; as, trial by battel. See Wager of battel, under Wager.