escadrille

[ es-kuh-dril, es-kuh-dril; French es-ka-dree-yuh ]

/ ˌɛs kəˈdrɪl, ˈɛs kəˌdrɪl; French ɛs kaˈdri yə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR escadrille ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural es·ca·drilles [es-kuh-drilz, es-kuh-drilz; French es-ka-dree-yuh] /ˌɛs kəˈdrɪlz, ˈɛs kəˌdrɪlz; French ɛs kaˈdri yə/.

a squadron or divisional unit of airplanes: the Lafayette Escadrille of World War I.

Obsolete. a small naval squadron.

RELATED WORDS

armada, fleet, battalion, squad, unit

Nearby words

esbat, esbjerg, esbo, esc., escabeche, escadrille, escadrille américaine, escalade, escalate, escalation, escalator

Origin of escadrille

1910–15; < French: flotilla, Middle French < Spanish escuadrilla, diminutive of escuadra squadron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for escadrille

The escadrille's next serious encounter with the foe took place a few days later.
Flying for France|James R. McConnell
The escadrille passed through Paris on its way to the Somme front.
Flying for France|James R. McConnell
Two Germans were brought down by machines they attacked and the four pilots from the American escadrille accounted for one each.
Flying for France|James R. McConnell
And all the pilots of the escadrille, in turn, came to sign it.
Georges Guynemer|Henry Bordeaux

Even men of higher rank who although connected with his escadrille are not pilots, treat him with respect.
Flying for France|James R. McConnell

British Dictionary definitions for escadrille

escadrille

/ (ˌɛskəˈdrɪl, French ɛskadrij) /

noun

a French squadron of aircraft, esp in World War I

a small squadron of ships

Word Origin for escadrille

from French: flotilla, from Spanish escuadrilla, from escuadra squadron

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 escadrille

escadrille

from French escadrille, from Spanish escuadrilla, diminutive of escuadra "square, squad, squadron," from Vulgar Latin *exquadrare, from Latin quadrare "to square" (see quadrant).