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brigade

[bri-geyd]
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noun
  1. a military unit having its own headquarters and consisting of two or more regiments, squadrons, groups, or battalions.
  2. a large body of troops.
  3. a group of individuals organized for a particular purpose: a fire brigade; a rescue brigade.
  4. bucket brigade.
  5. History/Historical. a convoy of canoes, sleds, wagons, or pack animals, especially as used to supply trappers in the 18th- and 19th-century Canadian and U.S. fur trade.
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verb (used with object), bri·gad·ed, bri·gad·ing.
  1. to form into a brigade.
  2. to group together.
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Origin of brigade

1630–40; < French < Old Italian brigata company of soldiers, orig. group, band, equivalent to brig(are) probably to associate (with), be together (obsolete sense) (see brigand) + -ata -ade1
Related formsin·ter·bri·gade, adjectivesub·bri·gade, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brigaded

Historical Examples

  • They were to be brigaded at half-past five, so the “Fall-in” would be at five.

    For Fortune and Glory

    Lewis Hough

  • We were brigaded with them for a bit and under fire at the same time.

    In the Wilderness

    Robert Hichens

  • I have a companion who must be brigaded with me, and I must go on active service at once.

    Under Two Flags

    Ouida [Louise de la Ramee]

  • This was the first occasion on which the corps had been brigaded since their formation.

    Norfolk Annals

    Charles Mackie

  • Having slaughtered the Indian males or brigaded them in slave-gangs, the Conquistadores took the Indian women to themselves.

British Dictionary definitions for brigaded

brigade

noun
  1. a formation of fighting units, together with support arms and services, smaller than a division and usually commanded by a brigadier
  2. a group of people organized for a certain taska rescue brigade
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verb (tr)
  1. to organize into a brigade
  2. to put or group together
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Word Origin

C17: from Old French, from Old Italian, from brigare to fight, perhaps of Celtic origin; see brigand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brigaded

brigade

n.

"subdivision of an army," 1630s, from French brigade "body of soldiers" (14c.), from Italian brigata "troop, crowd, gang," from brigare "brawl, fight," from briga "strife, quarrel," perhaps of Celtic (cf. Gaelic brigh, Welsh bri "power") or Germanic origin.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper