What does "perdu" mean?

Perdu: A soldier sent on a forlorn hope. Shak.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Lost to view; in concealment or ambush; close. He should lie perdue who is to walk the round. Fuller.
  2. 3.Accustomed to, or employed in, desperate enterprises; hence, reckless; hopeless. "A perdue captain." Beau. & Fl.

Sources