English
line of battle
line + battle
Proto-Germanic *līną ‘flax’
Proto-Germanic *līnǭ ‘line’
Proto-West Germanic *līnā ‘line’
Old English līne ‘line’
Middle English line ‘rope’
English line
Latin battuō ‘to strike, hit, beat’
Latin battuālia ‘fighting and fencing exercises’
Late Latin battālia
Old French bataille
Middle English batel
English battle
Today it means
noun The position of troops arranged in their usual order without any determined maneuver.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / line of battle