commando

commando
/keuh man"doh, -mahn"-/, n., pl. commandos, commandoes.
1. (in World War II)
a. any of the specially trained Allied military units used for surprise, hit-and-run raids against Axis forces.
b. a member of any of these units. Cf. ranger (def. 3).
2. any military unit organized for operations similar to those of the commandos of World War II.
3. a member of a military assault unit or team trained to operate quickly and aggressively in especially urgent, threatening situations, as against terrorists holding hostages.
[1785-95; < Afrik kommando raid, raiding party, a unit of militia < Pg commando unit commanded, n. deriv. of commandar to COMMAND]

* * *

In British military forces, a unit consisting of marines and soldiers organized for rapid deployment and trained to conduct special operations.

The commando originated with the Boers in South Africa, where it was the administrative and tactical unit "commandeered" by law. In World War II the British adopted the term for a new specially trained amphibious raiding force. Modern commandos are units of the Royal Marines with support troops from the British Army; by extension a member of such a unit is also called a commando and is entitled to wear a green beret.

* * *

      military unit—roughly equivalent to an infantry battalion—consisting of men especially trained to employ guerrilla-like shock tactics ranging from hand-to-hand combat to hit-and-run raids. A member of such a unit is also called a commando. In general usage, the term also refers to irregular or guerrilla tactics carried out by small regular units. The commando originated with the Boers (Boer) in South Africa, where it was the administrative and tactical unit “commandeered” by law.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • commando — [ kɔmɑ̃do ] n. m. • 1943; 1824 en angl. « milice de l armée des Boers », par l afrikaans, du port. commandar « commander » 1 ♦ Groupe de combat employé pour les opérations rapides, isolées ou pour la subversion. Commando de parachutistes. Un raid …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Commando — Разработчик Capcom Дата выпуска Май 1985 …   Википедия

  • Commando 21 — is the name given to the reorganisation of the Royal Marines (RM) three battalion sized Commando units; namely 40 Commando; 42 Commando; and 45 Commando [1]. Contents 1 The Commando 21 Organisation 1.1 Command Company …   Wikipedia

  • Commando — Com*man do, n. [D. See {Command}, v. t.] 1. In South Africa, a military body or command; also, sometimes, an expedition or raid; as, a commando of a hundred Boers. The war bands, called commandos, have played a great part in the . . . military… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • commando — /kə ma:ndəʊ/, it. /ko m:ando/ s. ingl. [dal port. commando comando attrav. l oland.], usato in ital. al masch., invar. (milit.) [gruppo di militari d assalto, impiegato spec. per azioni di sorpresa] ▶◀ ⇑ pattuglia, reparto …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • commando — Afrikaans, a troop under a commander, from Portuguese, lit. party commanded, in use c.1809 during the Peninsula campaign, then from 1834, in a S.African sense, of military expeditions of the Boers against the natives; modern sense is from 1940… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Commando —    Film d aventures de Mark L. Lester, avec Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya.   Pays: États Unis   Date de sortie: 1985   Technique: couleurs   Durée: 1 h 28    Résumé    Pour sauver sa fille, lâchement enlevée par une poignée d… …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • commando — /komˈmando, ingl. kəˈmɑːndə/ [vc. ingl., dal port. commando «comando»] s. m. inv. pattuglia, reparto, gruppo, nucleo …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Commando — (v. lat.), 1) Oberbefehl über eine Truppenabtheilung; 2) das Wort, auf welches ein Handgriff, eine Bewegung etc. vollzogen werden, od. welches als Vorbereitung hierzu dienen soll. Die Commandowörter 1. Klasse bezeichnen den Truppentheil u. daß… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Commando — Commando, militär. Befehl oder dienstlicher Auftrag; kleinere Truppenabtheilung mit bestimmtem Auftrage, z.B. Streifcommando …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • commando — {{hw}}{{commando}}{{/hw}} o commandoes ) Reparto di pochi soldati incaricato di missioni speciali e di sorpresa …   Enciclopedia di italiano

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”