Campaign

Campaign, a military term for the continuous operations of an army during a war or part of a war. The name refers to the time when armies went into quarters during the winter and literally “took the field” at the opening of summer. The word is also used figuratively, especially in politics, of any continuous operations aimed at a definite object, as the “Plan of Campaign” in Ireland during 1886-1887. The word is derived from the Latin Campania, the plain lying south-west of the Tiber, c.f. Italian, la Campagna di Roma, from which came two French forms: (1) Champagne, the name given to the level province of that name, and hence the English “champaign,” a level tract of country free from woods and hills; and (2) Campagne, and the English “campaign” with the restricted military meaning.