Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Commando \Com*man"do\, 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.
                                                  --James Bryce.

Source : WordNet®

commando
     n 1: a member of a military unit trained as shock troops for
          hit-and-run raids [syn: {ranger}]
     2: an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy
        territory
     [also: {commandoes} (pl)]