batailles

Batailles is the plural form of bataille, the French word for battle or armed engagement. In French-language writing, bataille can refer to a single combat, while batailles denotes multiple engagements or the broader topic of battles within military history. When naming a specific event, French uses the construction la bataille de followed by the location and date.

The word bataille comes from Old French bataille, with probable roots in a Germanic word linked to fighting; the precise origin is uncertain. Historically, the concept covers land battles and naval engagements, and in modern scholarship it can also encompass battles within larger campaigns or operations.

In historiography, batalles are categorized by theater, era, and belligerents. Historians may organize material around individual battles or around thematic surveys of notable engagements, often under headings such as batailles célèbres or lists of battles. The term also appears in encyclopedias, atlases, and reference works that summarize warfare across periods.

Examples and usage in French include la bataille d'Hastings, la bataille de Marathon, and la bataille de Poitiers, among others. The plural batailles may appear in titles that summarize multiple engagements or in discussions of warfare more broadly. The concept remains central to studies of military history, strategy, and political consequence.