Commando

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /kəˈmæn.dəʊ/
• Rhymes: -ændəʊ

Origin

From Afrikaans kommando, from Portuguese comando ("command")

Online Etymology Dictionary

, from Late Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare, from com- + mandare.

Noun

1. A small fighting force specially trained for making quick destructive raids against enemy-held areas.
• 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York Review Books 2006, p. 89:The most important objective was at Batna itself, where a group of three commandos each comprising ten men was to attack Deleplanque's sub-prefecture ....
2. A commando trooper
3. (historical) An organized force of Boer troops in South Africa; a raid by such troops

Derived terms

• go commando