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.
The dust of le petit caporal was deposited in a magnificent tomb in the Hotel des Invalides, before the eyes of a few survivors of his Old Guard.
From Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen — Volume 1 by Tytler, Sarah
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
Though he was a brutal leader, they were ready to follow him anywhere, and had been known to call him le gros caporal, so strong and obvious was this likeness.
From Angelot A Story of the First Empire by Price, Eleanor C. (Eleanor Catherine)
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.
