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.
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 Robert W. (Robert William) Service
He walked off with Freda, puffing at his thin roll of caporal.
From Villa Rubein, and other stories by John Galsworthy
"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
A few were honored with a clip by the artist hand of the petit caporal of our Engineer Company.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 44, June, 1861 Creator by Various
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.
