camisado

[ kam-uh-sey-doh, -sah- ]

noun

, Archaic.

, plural cam·i·sa·dos.

1. a military attack made at night.

camisado

/ ˌkæmɪˈsɑːdəʊ; ˌkæmɪˈseɪd /

noun

1. (formerly) an attack made under cover of darkness

Word History and Origins

Origin of camisado¹

1540–50; < Spanish camisada (now obsolete), equivalent to camis ( a ) shirt ( chemise ) + -ada -ade ¹; so called because participants in such attacks would wear shirts over their armor to aid in recognition

Word History and Origins

Origin of camisado¹

C16: from obsolete Spanish camisada, literally: an attack in one's shirt (worn over the armour as identification), from camisa shirt

Example Sentences

The last literal camisado, that I remember, was a nautical one—a cutting-out enterprise somewhere about 1807-8.

From Project Gutenberg