platoonn.
/pləˈtuːn/, U.S. /pləˈtun/ 1. Military.† b. A number of shots fired simultaneously by a platoon; a volley of shots, a fusillade. Cf. platoon fire n., platoon firing n. at Compounds 1. Also figurative. Obsolete.† c. = platoon exercise n. at Compounds 2. Obsolete.
a. Originally: a small body of foot soldiers, detached from a larger body and operating as an organized unit, esp. to fire in volleys (now historical). Now: any of various subdivisions of a company of soldiers, esp. infantry; spec. one forming a tactical unit that is commanded by a subaltern or lieutenant and divided into three sections.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > squad, platoon, section, etc.
glub1382
scalec1400
platoon?a1547
maniple1574
squadron1579
squader1590
squadrant1614
file1616
squada1657
peloton1702
section1913
?a1547 E. Seymour in D. Lloyd State-worthies (1670) 174 These Squadrons make up a Brigade, to be drawn up as followeth, viz. Ten Corporalships of Musqueteers being 34 Rots, divided into five Plattons, every Platton being nine or so in front, led by a Major.
1637 R. Monro Abridgem. Exerc. in Exped. Scots Regim. ii. 184 Eight Corporall-ships of Musketiers, being thirty-two Rots divided in foure Plottons, every Plotton being eight in front, led off by a Captaine.
1687 J. Dryden tr. L. Maimbourg Hist. League iv. 775 Thus was the Royal Army Marshall'd, which consisted of betwixt 9 and 10000 Foot, and 2800 Horse, divided into seven Squadrons, each of them with a Plotoon of Forlorn Hope before them.
1705 D. Jones Compleat Hist. Europe 411 Granville..marched up to the Relief of this Lunemburg Regiment, bearing the Enemy's Fire, before he suffered any Platton of his Battalion to discharge.
1738 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) II. 122 Platoons, which consisted of four and twenty men each.
1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 9 Sept. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 420 Just as we got up with them, they began to fire by platoons.
1809 F. Cuming Sketches Tour W. Country 301 At Fort Adams..a subaltern with a platoon..[is] left in it, to guard the pass and prevent smuggling.
1846 Hist. Rec. 1st Regiment of Foot 130 The street contained only a platoon abreast, so the first platoon fired their 24 rounds, and then filed off, and were succeeded by the next and following platoons.
1875 L. F. Tasistro tr. Comte de Paris Hist. Civil War Amer. I. 272 The recruits must go through a series of exercises and evolutions..first singly, then by platoons, by battalions next, and finally by brigades.
1913 Army Order 323 16 Sept. §4 A company will be divided into four platoons, each commanded by a subaltern... Each platoon will be sub-divided under regulations to be issued later.
1945 H. P. Samwell Infantry Officer with Eighth Army iv. 33 We had agreed that he should bring up Company H.Q. and the reserve platoon behind, while I led the forward platoons.
1991 N.Y. Times 17 Feb. i. 20/5 A tank driver in the Second Platoon, and at 19 the company's youngest soldier.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > simultaneous
volley1573
salve1577
salvo1591
volley-shot1689
platoon1706
fusillade1801
fusillading1839
1706 G. Farquhar Recruiting Officer iii. ii. 35 I tell'e what, I'll make Love like a Platoon.
1747 Gentleman's Mag. July 317/2 The Welsh fuzileers fired two platoons upon the Dutch.
1775 R. B. Sheridan St. Patrick's Day i. i 2 Sol. We'll argue in platoons. 3. Sol. Ay, ay, let him have our grievances in a volley.
1817 M. Wilks Hist. Sketches S. India (1869) II. xxxiii. 145 Threw in a regular platoon on the flank which killed the officer commanding.
1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxviii. 298 These can fight in line and fire a platoon as well as one could wish to see.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > other evolutions
inversion1627
conversion1635
fronting1796
platoon1797
platoon exercise1797
half-face1833
right (or left) shoulders (in)!1833
three-quarters face1833
about-face1835
ployment1861
1797 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (rev. ed.) App. 267 After the manual and platoon, the battalion remains formed at close order, and the major returns to his post in the rear.
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master ii. 50. Go thro' the manuel, and platoon Correctly, I'll dismiss you soon.
2.
a. A (usually small) company, squad, set, or group of people acting together. Also in extended use.
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society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun]
ferec975
flockOE
gingc1175
rout?c1225
companyc1300
fellowshipc1300
covinc1330
eschelec1330
tripc1330
fellowred1340
choira1382
head1381
glub1382
partya1387
peoplec1390
conventc1426
an abominable of monksa1450
body1453
carol1483
band1490
compernagea1500
consorce1512
congregationa1530
corporationa1535
corpse1534
chore1572
society1572
crew1578
string1579
consort1584
troop1584
tribe1609
squadron1617
bunch1622
core1622
lag1624
studa1625
brigadea1649
platoon1711
cohort1719
lot1725
corps1754
loo1764
squad1786
brotherhood1820
companionhood1825
troupe1825
crowd1840
companionship1842
group1845
that ilk1845
set-out1854
layout1869
confraternity1872
show1901
crush1904
we1927
familia1933
shower1936
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > group > specifically of people
eschelec1330
assortec1450
drift?c1450
flight1577
squader1590
squadron1617
group1711
platoon1711
squad1809
cuadrilla1838
clutch1908
1711 True Acct. Last Distemper T. Whigg ii. 44 Tom..danc'd away the Hays with them in regular Plattoons.
1749 tr. J. Pic Dream Alcibiades 40 These Plottoons..are Politicians,..who decide, without Authority, of the Fate of the People, and of Kingdoms.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 68 To love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections. View more context for this quotation
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. xi. 167 This is played by two parties drawn out in opposite platoons before a blazing fire.
1852 Times 9 Aug. 5/2 A platoon of police, headed by the chief, made a charge on the assailants.
1916 Nash's & Pall Mall Mag. Apr. 149/2 To Kijige in due time came Mowbray, with his platoon of actors, camera experts..and porters.
1965 Listener 3 June 837/3 A platoon of Wagner tubas.
2004 Times (Nexis) 9 June 15 A riot police platoon was the only representative of the State at the service.
b. Originally U.S. A number of road vehicles moving together as if in convoy on account of their regulated flow through a traffic system.
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1967 Ann. Math. Statistics 38 760 We count as the successive service times the time required for the platoon to merge, plus the fixed length of the green cycle on the main road.
1976 Traffic Engin. & Control July 300/3 Vehicles were considered to be part of a platoon if they followed each other at the cross-section at headways not larger than five seconds... The smallest platoon consists of two vehicles.
1983 Sci. Amer. Mar. 122/1 When the drivers travel at a certain speed, they are supposed to find a green light at each intersection. In heavy traffic this sequencing forces the cars into what traffic analysts call platoons.
1994 New Scientist 15 Oct. 40/1 Vehicles will join the platoons from the rear. When they wish to leave, the platoon will split behind the exiting vehicle to allow it to drop back and leave the motorway.
2000 Dallas Morning News (Nexis) 23 Aug. 4 a ‘We try to stop cars in what we call platoons,’ Mr Taylor said. ‘The cars are grouped together and they make the green on the next signal and go straight through a corridor of lights.’
3.
a. American Football. A group of players trained to act together as a single unit of attack or defence and usually sent into or withdrawn from the game as a body.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > American football > [noun] > types of player > specific group of players
defensive line1632
rush1881
rush line1882
offensive line1893
strong side1905
backfield1911
platoon1941
secondary1955
suicide squad1960
D-line1971
1941 Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress 14 Jan. 11 They [sc. football teams] can still send in as many players—platoons included—while the clock is stopped.
1972 J. Mosedale Football viii. 115 (caption) Once aroused, Nomellini could handle a platoon of enemy blockers.
2003 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 15 Dec. 1 c Donatell's platoon exploited the Chargers' makeshift offensive line down the stretch.
b. Baseball. A group of two or more players who take turns in a fielding position; (also) a group of platoon players.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > baseball player > [noun] > players alternating at same position
Murderers' Row1905
platoon player1960
platoon1976
1976 Webster's Sports Dict. 318/2 Platoon..Baseball, two or more players who alternate at the same position. The players who make up a particular platoon are usually average players who are adequate fielders but who are not outstanding hitters.
1994 T. Boswell Cracking Show v. iii. 87 No player in baseball, until Fielder, had the self-confidence, or maybe audacity, to go to Japan..to prove that he was a star and not a part-time platoon player.
2003 Houston Chron. (Nexis) 17 June 1 Ensberg is sharing third base duty with switch-hitting Geoff Blum, giving the Astros one of the most productive platoons in all of baseball.
Compounds
C1.
platoon commander n.
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1865 in U. S. Congr. Rep. Joint Comm. on Conduct of War 55 I would most respectfully acknowledge to the colonel commanding the services rendered by my platoon commanders..and recommend them for their bravery.
1917 W. Owen Let. 23 Nov. (1967) 509 Interesting work but hardly ‘lighter’ than a Platoon Commander's.
1990 C. Allen Savage Wars of Peace (1991) 24 As a platoon commander in what was widely regarded as a ‘platoon commander's war’, he enjoyed his independence—but not the absence of control from above that went with it.
platoon corporal n.
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1941 A. Cotterell What! No Morning Tea? 29 After breakfast there was a joint lecture by our two platoon corporals on what to call the various parts of the rifle.
1992 M. J. Staples Pearly Queen (BNC) 24 ‘Rafferty!’ bawled the sergeant-major. So I spoke up, bein' Rafferty's platoon corporal.
platoon drill n.
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1852 F. Baucher Method of Horsemanship 24 The principal movements of the platoon-drill on horseback, running at the head and charging, have completed the exercises.
1935 I. Miller School Tie xv. 290 I could never get the hang of anything more evolutionary than platoon-drill.
2003 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) (Nexis) 9 Nov. 30 High school students..will compete in platoon drill, armed exhibition, inspections, color guard, knockout drill and physical fitness.
platoon fire n.
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1793 Times 22 May 3/3 On the 10th, about two o'clock, a strong cannonade and platoon fire was kept up from the eminences of Hechtheim and the Holy Cross.
1872 Scribner's Monthly Sept. 525/1 An approaching platoon fire is heard.
1990 B. Cornwell Sharpe's Waterloo vii. 120 The musketry was not the huge eruptions of platoon fire, but rather the smaller sporadic scrapping of skirmishers.
platoon firing n.
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1792 Times 25 June 2/4 About twelve o'clock, the marchings, counter-marchings and platoon firing being finished, the Queen, Princess and Duchess of York were conducted to a marquee.
1842 Z. Thompson Hist. Vermont ii. i. 9/2 The regular troops then moved forward and commenced the attack upon the centre by platoon firing, which, on account of the distance, produced little effect.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VI. 514 The discharging [of neurons] may take place by platoon firing or by company firing, or by desultory rank firing..the general opinion is in favour of platoon firing.
1996 Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Nexis) 9 Dec. c2 The Americans warned [the British officers] that wheeling and platoon firing wouldn't help much when the Indians started firing from behind trees.
platoon leader n.
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1916 Times 3 July 5/2 In the fields the girls work under the direction of ‘platoon leaders.’
1985 W. Styron Love Day in Esquire Aug. 94/3 A Marine platoon leader is a bit like a scoutmaster who..encounters murky, nearly unfordable streams, poisonous rattlesnakes, nests of vicious wasps, huge grizzly bears.
2004 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman (Nexis) 7 July 1 a He was deployed to Iraq in January as a platoon leader of Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.
platoon officer n.
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1818 N. Amer. Rev. July 234 He was a platoon officer, commanding twenty or thirty men, and engaged, like them, in loading and discharging his musket.
1915 ‘B. Cable’ Between Lines 25 ‘Can't you keep on belting 'em for a bit?’ asked the Platoon officer. ‘Might make 'em ease up on us.’
2004 Hull Daily Mail (Nexis) 26 Mar. 22 He saw his platoon officer gunned down by heavy machine gun fire as he raced across crater-filled streets.
platoon sergeant n.
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1890 Times 22 Dec. 13/5 The superior grades from, say, the ‘Gen.’ himself..unto the platoon sergeant.
1915 D. O. Barnett Let. 18 Jan. in In Happy Memory 41 I like the men awfully, especially my platoon sergeant.
1990 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army xxi. 263 Formerly the Parachute Regiment Battle School, Brecon's main purpose is to train section commanders and platoon sergeants in rigorous exercises on the Sennybridge training area.
platoon training n.
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1920 Times 9 Nov. 24/7 The Admiralty..have observed a tendency in Royal Marine detachments afloat to ignore the spirit of platoon training and organization instead of adapting it to their needs.
1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags ii. 125 After the stand-easy they fell in for platoon training.
1995 Jrnl. Operational Res. Soc. 46 295 Training modes are classified into platoon training modes, crew training modes etc, depending on the level of unit for which they are designed.
C2. † platoon swearing n. Obsolete the utterance of a rapid succession of oaths or swear words.Apparently an isolated use.
platoon exercise n. now chiefly historical a drill in which a group of soldiers practises loading and firing in synchrony.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > other evolutions
inversion1627
conversion1635
fronting1796
platoon1797
platoon exercise1797
half-face1833
right (or left) shoulders (in)!1833
three-quarters face1833
about-face1835
ployment1861
1797 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (rev. ed.) App. 267 The major closes rear ranks for the platoon exercise.
1885 Times 23 Dec. 3/1 We watched several companies at platoon exercise today.
1996 Representations No. 53. 37 One of those ubiquitous spies attending meetings of the London Corresponding Society..told the government in 1794 that one Stiff, a hairdresser, claimed to be capable of teaching a ‘manual and platoon exercise’ for revolutionary armed clubs.
platoon school n. U.S. (now historical) and South African Education a school organized on the platoon system (platoon system n. 2).
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1921 Washington Post 9 Nov. 2/3 (headline) Parkview citizens favor platoon school plan.
1972 Standard Encycl. Southern Afr. VI. 71 There has been a considerable reduction in numbers of children in platoon schools.
2001 Africa News (Nexis) 20 Nov. We have much fewer platoon schools and less overcrowding overall.
2003 Phi Delta Kappan (Nexis) 1 Apr. 606 In 1908 in Gary Indiana..‘platoon’ schools became the rage. These schools were organized much like factories.
ΚΠ
1793 Law in E. A. Bond Trial Warren Hastings (1860) III. 266 After having tried his hand to hit the mark twice alone, then he indulged in platoon swearing.
1883 Times 20 Sept. 3/1 He..succeeds by platoon swearing and volleys of oaths.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
platoonv.
/pləˈtuːn/, U.S. /pləˈtun/ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > discharge firearms [verb (intransitive)] > simultaneously
platoon1780
volley1855
1780 S. J. Pratt Emma Corbett II. 48 The veteran Carbines, after having platooned and pioneered it for a number of years,..could keep the field no longer.
2. transitive. To arrange (people) into platoons.
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the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)] > group > like spec.
faggot1605
squadron1862
platoon1875
1875 B. Disraeli Let. 20 Aug. in Lett. to Lady Bradford (1929) I. xvi. 275 We have had all the gamblers capitalists financiers of the world organized and platooned..against us.
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The advantages from platooning students in smaller schools.
1991 Newsday (N.Y.) (Nexis) 12 June (Nassau ed.) ii. 63 The other dozen dancers, platooned in color-coded trios of red, blue and purple, also exhibited a certain flippy bumptiousness and high-spirited unity.
3. Baseball.
a. intransitive. To alternate with another player in the same position.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (intransitive)] > alternate players
platoon1963
1963 Los Angeles Times 9 Mar. ii. 3/2 The 20-year-old Oxnard product has a good chance to beat Ron Fairly out of the left-field spot—or at least platoon with [him].
1972 N.Y. Times 4 June v. 2/7 Buckner also shares first base with Wes Parker and Crawford platoons with Manny Mota in left field.
1993 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 22 Oct. 73/4 The left-handed hitting Thompson, who went 0-for-3 in last night's 2–0 victory, had platooned in left field with Pete Incaviglia for most of the season.
2004 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 3 Oct. 3 x Freshman Danny Verpaele..platooned with Smith at safety, and redshirt freshman Trae Williams saw spot duty at cornerback.
b. transitive. To alternate (a player) with another in the same position.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > play baseball [verb (transitive)] > alternate players
platoon1967
1967 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Add. Platoon..,to alternate (one player) with another player in the same position (as on a baseball team).
1969 Time 5 Sept. 52 Hodges decided to ‘platoon’ him by playing him only against lefthanded pitchers.
1984 Washington Post (Nexis) 8 Dec. h1 They were platooned with each other for years.
2004 Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Northwestern (Nexis) 27 Oct. Mlodzik, who had been platooned with sophomore Scott Gillespie for the entire season, played the whole second half.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.?a1547
v.1780