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.

Synonym Usage

See physical.

Other Word Forms

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

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; see -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; see also pall ¹ ( def. ), pallium

Explanation

Corporal means "of the body." Corporal punishment involves physically harming someone. A corporal is also a noncommissioned officer in the Army, Air Force, and Marines. In the military, a corporal is a soldier who rose through the ranks as an enlisted soldier, not going to one of the military colleges. Elsewhere, this word has to do with physical things and beings. A ghost is not corporal — it has no body. In a horror movie, corporal monsters like zombies and vampires can do more damage. You can also talk about corporal pleasures, like eating and drinking. When you see the word corporal (or corporeal), think body.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

corporal

Several private schools in Ohio and Virginia permit paddling as discipline even though those states outlaw corporal punishment in public schools.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

With his older brother John, he ran a school, having left a previous teaching post from a disinclination to administer corporal punishment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

When Lai was eventually rotated out of the presidential-offices detail and risked losing access to lucrative intelligence, he recruited another sergeant and a corporal in his battalion to take over.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

Banning corporal punishment also had been a primary demand of student and teacher activists who took part in widespread Latino student walkouts from L.A. schools in 1968.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

“There are a lot of streams in the forest,” the lieutenant had said, walking away, leaving the corporal to finish what he had started.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah