caporal
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of caporal1
1840–50; short for French tabac du caporal tobacco of the corporal 2
Origin of caporal2
1590–1600; < Spanish: chief, manager < Italian; see corporal 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He walked off with Freda, puffing at his thin roll of caporal.
From Villa Rubein, and other stories by John Galsworthy
With arms folded and head bent, he looked more le gros caporal than ever.
From Angelot A Story of the First Empire by Eleanor C. (Eleanor Catherine) Price
Only they do not look like it always, carelessly chatting behind their modest glasses of beer, often from amid the clouds of incense floating from cheap cigars, or the equally economic caporal tobacco.
From Mated from the Morgue A tale of the Second Empire by John Augustus O'Shea
"I wish," says the petit caporal of the Engineer Company, patting his howitzer gently on the back, "that I could get this Putty Blower pointed at the enemy, while you fellows are bridge-building."
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 44, June, 1861 Creator by Various
OBS.—The noun "corporal," meaning a petty officer, is not derived from corpus: it comes from the French caporal, of which it is a corruption.
From New Word-Analysis Or, School Etymology of English Derivative Words by William Swinton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
