commandeered
UK[ˌkɒmənˈdɪəd]US[ˌkɑːmənˈdɪrd]
v
to take control of something, especially private property, for military or public use, usually by force or official order.
v
to take something for oneself in an arbitrary or forceful way.
Morpheme Breakdown
com
mand
eered
com
together, with
mand
to order, entrust
eered
Etymology
the word 'commandeer' originates from the afrikaans 'kommandeer', meaning 'to command', which itself was borrowed from the french 'commander'. the french term derives from the vulgar latin 'commandare', an alteration of the classical latin 'commendare' ('to entrust, commit'). the latin 'commendare' is a compound of the intensive prefix 'com-' and 'mandare' ('to order, entrust'), from 'manus' ('hand') and 'dare' ('to give'), suggesting the act of handing something over with authority. entering english via south african colonial context in the 19th century, the term's meaning evolved from general commanding to specifically denote the forcible seizure of resources, blending the concepts of authoritative order and taking possession.
Analysis
Structure: com + mand + eered
com: latin origin, a prefix meaning 'together, with', or an intensive prefix.
mand: latin origin, from 'mandare' meaning 'to order, entrust'.
eered: english origin, a suffix forming the past tense and past participle of regular verbs.
Examples
during the emergency, the government commandeered all private hospitals.
he commandeered the meeting and started discussing his own agenda.
the officer commandeered a civilian vehicle to pursue the suspect.