colonel

[kur-nl]

noun

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.

a commissioned officer of similar rank in the armed forces of some other nations.

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.

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

Origin of colonel

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

Related formscolo·nel·cy, noun

Pronunciation note

Colonel

[kur-nl] /ˈkɜr nl/, with its medial l pronounced as [r] /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] /l/, and a second reflecting dissimilation of the first [l] /l/ to [r] /r/. After a period of competition, the dissimilated form triumphed in pronunciation, while the spelling colonel became the orthographic standard.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for colonel

Contemporary Examples of colonel

Those who spoke out against it included a fellow Air Force colonel, Lindsay Graham, who also happens to be a U.S. senator.
The Luxury Homes That Torture and Your Tax Dollars Built
Michael Daly
December 12, 2014
A judge there would have wide latitude in sentencing and could send the colonel to prison.
Commando Colonel Accused of Exposing his Lover to HIV
Jacob Siegel
November 19, 2014
An Army National Guard colonel charged with knowingly exposing a woman to HIV faced his accuser in a military courtroom on Monday.
Commando Colonel Accused of Exposing his Lover to HIV
Jacob Siegel
November 19, 2014
Being called to duty, the colonel was forced to leave the young girl behind.
New York’s Scariest Night Out: The Ghosts, Rats, and Lunatics of ‘Nightmare New York’
Justin Jones
October 4, 2014
“All this boosts the morale of the Afghan Taliban,” says the colonel.
Kabul Airport Attack Comes as Pakistani Fighters Join Afghan Taliban
Sami Yousafzai
July 17, 2014

Historical Examples of colonel

Oh, Colonel, help me to guard against so dreadful a calamity.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
"You ought to be able to answer that question better than I," replied the colonel.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
"It seems to me a very good arrangement," said the colonel to his wife.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
The colonel threw his cloak about his shoulders, and hastened down to the carpenter's.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
The doctor, however, went at once into the bedroom, and the colonel followed him.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri

British Dictionary definitions for colonel

colonel

noun

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

Derived Formscolonelcy or colonelship, noun

Word Origin for colonel

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for colonel

1540s, coronell, from Middle French coronel (16c.), modified by dissimilation from Italian colonnella "commander of a column of soldiers at the head of a regiment," from compagna colonella "little column company," from Latin columna "pillar" (see hill). English spelling modified 1580s in learned writing to conform with the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and pronunciations with "r" and "l" coexisted 17c.-18c., but the earlier pronunciation prevailed. Spanish coronel, from Italian, shows a similar evolution by dissimilation.