paratrooper

Etymology

Blend of parachute + trooper

noun

1. A type of soldier who is trained to enter combat zones by parachuting from aircraft.
   Upon receiving intelligence reports about the massing of enemy paratroopers, General Peng Dehuai posted a defence regiment at Yan'an airfield, and requested that Mao leave Yan'an as soon as possible. 1992, Yanchi (权延赤) Quan, “Mao Enjoys a Challenge”, in Wang Wenjiong, transl., edited by Gale Hadfield, 走下神坛的毛泽东 [Mao Zedong: Man, Not God], Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, published 1996, →OCLC, →OL, page 13