Deployments

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The organized distribution and employment of personnel and resources for designated tasks or missions
2. The planned positioning and use of people or equipment to carry out a specific function
3. The systematic sending or stationing of units and materials to fulfill an assigned objective

Etymology: "Deployments" is simply the plural of "deployment," so the history belongs to the singular. That noun comes from French "déploiement," formed from "déployer," meaning to unfold or spread out, and that verb has a literal sense of opening up something folded. English then combined the French noun with its own "de-" prefix and "-ment" ending, which in English produced a further sense of "ployment," the act of employing or using something. The result is a word that began as the image of unfolding a banner or a fan and came to describe moving soldiers, ships or equipment into position for action.

Synonyms: arrangements, positions, assignments