Camisade
/ˌkæmɪˈsɑːd/noun
A surprise military attack made at night or at dawn.
Did you know?The word comes from soldiers wearing a shirt over armor for a dark raid, and English borrowed it through French from a Latin root meaning “shirt”—so the battlefield term was born from nightwear.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
camisia
“a shirt or undergarment”
Old French
Old French
camisade
“a shirt worn over armor; later, a night attack by troops in shirts”
16th Century
French
camisade
“a surprise attack, especially at night”
17th Century
English
camisado
“a nighttime military attack”
Modern English
English
camisade
“a surprise attack made at night or at dawn”