corporal

¹ American  

[kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl] / ˈkɔr pər əl, -prəl /

adjective

1. of the human body; bodily; physical.

   corporal suffering.

   Synonyms:

   material

2. Zoology. of the body proper, as distinguished from the head and limbs.

3. personal.

   corporal possession.

4. Obsolete. corporeal; belonging to the material world.

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corporal ² American  

[kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl] / ˈkɔr pər əl, -prəl /

noun

Military.

1. 1. a noncommissioned officer ranking above a private first class in the U.S. Army or lance corporal in the Marines and below a sergeant.

   2. a similar rank in the armed services of other countries.

2. Corporal, a U.S. surface-to-surface, single-stage ballistic missile.

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corporal ³ American  

[kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl] / ˈkɔr pər əl, -prəl /

noun

Ecclesiastical.

1. a fine cloth, usually of linen, on which the consecrated elements in the Eucharist are placed or with which they are covered.

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corporal ¹ British  

/ -prəl, ˈkɔːpərəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the body; bodily

2. an obsolete word for corporeal

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corporal ² British  

/ ˈkɔːpərəl, -prəl /

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer junior to a sergeant in the army, air force, or marines

2. (in the Royal Navy) a petty officer who assists the master-at-arms

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corporal ³ British  

/ -prəl, ˌkɔːpəˈreɪlɪ, ˈkɔːpərəl /

noun

1. a white linen cloth on which the bread and wine are placed during the Eucharist

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Usage

What does corporal mean? Corporal means physical, or relating to the physical body.Sometimes, corporal is about the body specifically- like corporal suffering, or bodily pain. Other times, corporal simply refers to something you are able to touch, like a corporal, or tangible, possession.While it is frowned upon now, many schools in the United States used to use hitting, spanking, or other forms of corporal punishment to discipline students.

Related Words

See physical.

Other Word Forms

• corporalcy noun
• corporality noun
• corporally adverb
• corporalship noun

Etymology

Origin of corporal¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English corporal, corporel, from Old French corporal and Latin corporālem, from corporālis “bodily, physical,” equivalent to corpor- (stem of corpus “body” (alive or dead) + -ālis adjective ending; -al ¹

Origin of corporal²

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French corporal, variant of cap(p)oral (influenced by adjective corporal “bodily”), from Italian caporale, apparently a contraction of the phrase capo corporale “corporal head, bodily head” that is, head of a body (of soldiers); See caput, corporal ¹

Origin of corporal³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English corporal(le), from Medieval Latin corporālis (palla), corporāle (pallium) “eucharistic (altar cloth)”; replacing earlier corporas, corporaus, from Old French corporaus, corporals, from Latin corporālis (palla), as above; pall ¹ ( def. ), pallium

Example Sentences

Robert Docter, an L.A. school board member in the 1970s who successfully pushed to end corporal punishment and who sacrificed his political career trying to integrate campuses through busing, has died at 97.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

Alicia Blevins’s husband, Nathaniel, brings home $3,200 a month as a Marine corporal at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025

The great-great grandfather served in the army throughout World War Two, having joined in 1939 and left as a corporal in 1946.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2025

Mr Lemon served in the army throughout World War Two, having joined in 1939 and left as a corporal in 1946.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2025

Briony had seen them bring the corporal in.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan