commando

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: com=man=do

CIDE DICTIONARY

commando, n. [D. See Command, v. t.].

•  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 history of the country."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  a usually small military unit trained to perform special missions, often behind enemy lines, and usually employing hit-and-run tactics. Such units often have the destruction of fixed targets, such as enemy installations, as their mission, in contrast to normal combat units which engage the enemy army directly.  [PJC]
•  a member of a commando{2} unit.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

commando, n. (pl. -os) Mil.
1 a a unit of British amphibious shock troops. b a member of such a unit. c a similar unit or member of such a unit elsewhere.
2 a a party of men called out for military service. b a body of troops.
3 (attrib.) of or concerning a commando (a commando operation).

Etymology

Port. f. commandar COMMAND