colonel

[ kur-nl ]

/ ˈkɜr nl /

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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.

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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

how to pronounce colonel

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM colonel

colo·nel·cy, noun

Words nearby colonel

Colombian, Colombian gold, Colombo, colon, colon bacillus, colonel, Colonel Blimp, colonelcy, colonia, colonial, colonial animal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use colonel in a sentence

Jane Carson, a retired colonel who was then head nurse of Lane’s ward, was getting ready for work when the rocket hit the center of their ward.
Eight Women’s Names Are Among the Thousands on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Here’s What to Know About Them|Francine Uenuma|May 27, 2021|Time
They need to speak to the lieutenant and the colonel and all up to me.
Pfizer’s Albert Bourla Bets Big on Beating Future Pandemics|Isabelle Lee|April 9, 2021|Ozy
After graduating in 1958, he served as an Army pay clerk in Korea and landed a job as a military reporter after a concerned colonel helped him sober up.
Neil Sheehan, N.Y. Times reporter who obtained Pentagon Papers and chronicled ‘Bright Shining Lie’ of Vietnam, dies at 84|Harrison Smith|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
Like many critics of the Army, this colonel looked to the Marine Corps for inspiration, arguing that their gender-segregated training was pragmatic and sensible.
The Army can’t repeat the mistakes of the 1990s if it wants to end sexual assault|David Fitzgerald|December 17, 2020|Washington Post

So I called Brad Leighton, a lieutenant colonel and public affairs director of the Illinois guard, to get some clarity.
Mobilizing the National Guard Doesn’t Mean Your State Is Under Martial Law. Usually.|by Logan Jaffe|September 17, 2020|ProPublica
When a top Mobutu confidant named Colonel Alphonse Bangala purchased the island, Lometcha bought shares.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
My immediate chief was a Lieutenant Colonel Verne L. Bowers, clearly picked out by Eisenhower as a highly talented staff officer.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk|Clive Irving|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Colonel and his two friends rode back towards the south, from whence they came.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
"Colonel Shaffer is a few miles to the west with about five hundred men," replied Harry.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The Colonel read the dispatch of Captain Duffield, sitting on his bed in his nightclothes.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
It was eleven o'clock before the river was crossed and the headquarters of Colonel Guitar reached.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Of this force, Colonel Guitar ordered one hundred to accompany him to Fulton.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for colonel

colonel

/ (ˈkɜːnəl) /

noun

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

Derived forms of colonel

colonelcy 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