Why this word is great
VEXILLATION — [Noun] A temporary detachment of soldiers, especially in ancient Rome, drawn from a larger legion and mustered under its own standard for a specific campaign or duty. From the Latin vexillatio, vexillationis, from vexillum ("flag, military standard, banner"). Unlike a "legion" (the full, permanent corps of over five thousand men) or a "cohort" (its standardized, permanent tenth), a vexillation was an ad-hoc fragment, defined by the standard it followed rather than a fixed roster. It is the dust cloud raised by a column marching to a restive frontier, the crackle of a separate standard unfurled in a provincial wind, and the isolated cluster of campfires in a foreign valley—a fragment of empire, asserting its purpose and its transience in one fluttering symbol.