colonel

[ kur-nl ]

noun

1. an officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps ranking between lieutenant colonel and brigadier general: corresponding to a captain in the U.S. Navy.
2. a commissioned officer of similar rank in the armed forces of some other nations.
3. an honorary title bestowed by some Southern states, as to those who have brought honor to the state, prominent businesspersons, visiting celebrities, or the like:

   When the vice president visited the state he was made a Kentucky colonel.

4. Older Use. (in the South) a title of respect prefixed to the name of distinguished elderly men.

colonel

/ ˈkɜːnəl /

noun

1. an officer of land or air forces junior to a brigadier but senior to a lieutenant colonel

Pronunciation Note

Colonel [kur, -nl], with its medial l pronounced as [r], illustrates one source for the apparent vagaries of English spelling: divergence between a word's orthographic development and its established pronunciation. In this case, English borrowed from French two variant forms of the same word, one pronounced with medial and final [l], and a second reflecting dissimilation of the first [l] to [r]. After a period of competition, the dissimilated form triumphed in pronunciation, while the spelling colonel became the orthographic standard.

Derived Forms

• ˈcolonelcy, noun

Other Words From

• colonel·cy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of colonel¹

1540–50; < Middle French < Italian colon(n)ello, equivalent to colonn(a) column + -ello < Latin -ellus diminutive suffix; so named because such an officer originally headed the first column or company of a regiment

Word History and Origins

Origin of colonel¹

C16: via Old French, from Old Italian colonnello column of soldiers, from colonna column

Example Sentences

When a top Mobutu confidant named Colonel Alphonse Bangala purchased the island, Lometcha bought shares.

From The Daily Beast

Those who spoke out against it included a fellow Air Force colonel, Lindsay Graham, who also happens to be a U.S. senator.

From The Daily Beast

A judge there would have wide latitude in sentencing and could send the colonel to prison.

From The Daily Beast

An Army National Guard colonel charged with knowingly exposing a woman to HIV faced his accuser in a military courtroom on Monday.

From The Daily Beast

My immediate chief was a Lieutenant Colonel Verne L. Bowers, clearly picked out by Eisenhower as a highly talented staff officer.

From The Daily Beast

The Colonel and his two friends rode back towards the south, from whence they came.

From Project Gutenberg

"Colonel Shaffer is a few miles to the west with about five hundred men," replied Harry.

From Project Gutenberg

The Colonel read the dispatch of Captain Duffield, sitting on his bed in his nightclothes.

From Project Gutenberg

It was eleven o'clock before the river was crossed and the headquarters of Colonel Guitar reached.

From Project Gutenberg

Of this force, Colonel Guitar ordered one hundred to accompany him to Fulton.

From Project Gutenberg