stormtrooper
noun/ˈstɔːmtɹuːpə/
Etymology A calque of German Sturmtruppen, from Sturm (“storm”) + Truppen (“troops”), equivalent to storm + trooper.
1
A soldier trained in special infiltration tactics.
- Indeed, the infantry battle on the desolate ridgeline above Darwin would probably have seemed remarkably familiar to a World War I stormtrooper.1995, Ian Drury, German Stormtrooper 1914-18, Osprey Publishing, page 4:
- As you'll recall, the idea of the stormtrooper arose from the effort to break out of the trench warfare of World War I.1996, Mark McNeilly, Sun Tzu and the Art of Business, Oxford, page 134:
1 more example
- When he came upon such a scene he went up to a stormtrooper to protest.2001, J.S. Medaware, David Pyke, Hitler's Gift, Arcade Publishing, page 72:
2
A member of the Sturmabteilung, a Nazi street militia.
- Derived terms
- Imperial Stormtrooper, Starmtrooper, Stormpilot