commando
pronunciation
How to pronounce commando in British English:
UK [kəˈmɑ:ndəʊ]
How to pronounce commando in American English:
US [kəˈmændoʊ]
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- Noun:
- a member of a military unit trained as shock troops for hit-and-run raids
- an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy territory
Word Origin
- commando (n.)
- Afrikaans, "a troop under a commander," from Portuguese, literally "party commanded" (see command (v.)); in use c. 1809 during the Peninsula campaign, then from 1834, in a South African sense, of military expeditions of the Boers against the natives; modern sense is from 1940 (originally shock troops to repel the threatened German invasion of England), first attested in writings of Winston Churchill, who could have picked it up during the Boer War. Phrase going commando "not wearing underwear" attested by 1996, U.S. slang, perhaps on notion of being ready for instant action.
Example
- 1. The us military 's elite commando unit , delta force , had been transferred out of afghanistan .
- 2. He is remembered not only as the greatest travel writer of his generation , or even his century , but as a hero of the battle of crete , in which he served as a commando in the british special forces .
- 3. Secret commando units like task force 373 - a classified group of army and navy special operatives - work from a " capture / kill list " of about 70 top insurgent commanders .
- 4. The diplomat reported that a senior u.s. special operations commander revealed the supposed commando program at a conference in florida last week .
- 5. Plymouth-based m company , 42 commando royal marines , carrying out operation volcano against taliban forces in helmand , afghanistan .