Meaning

noun a smallest army unit

noun a cooperative unit (especially in sports)

noun a small squad of policemen trained to deal with a particular kind of crime

originEtymology tree Latin quadrus Vulgar Latin *exquadrō Italian squadraredeverb. Italian squadra French escouadebor. English squad From French escouade, from Italian squadra (“square”) (whence also French escadre). Doublet of squadra and square.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0