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.
In answer to your question, I shall begin by informing you that I have not set eyes on the petit caporal, as some affect to style the Chief Consul.
From Paris as It Was and as It Is by Blagdon, Francis W.
For there's the cafe open wide, And there they set me up; And there I smoke my caporal Above my cider cup; And play manille a while before I hurry home to sup.
From Ballads of a Bohemian by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)
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 Swinton, William
They were heroes, nevertheless; and, I suppose, une fois caporal, toujours caporal.
From Elinor Wyllys, Volume 1 by Cooper, Susan Fenimore
He had been personally noticed by 'Le p'tit caporal.'
From Tracks of a Rolling Stone by Coke, Henry J. (Henry John)
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.
