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

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

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

Brydson, an ex-army corporal from Renfrew, was housemaster at Monken Hadley.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

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

A 96-year-old former RAF corporal who left school when he was 14 has become the oldest contestant in Countdown history.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2025

“Pity, though. I would have thought clothing the poor in taste would have been a fine corporal work of mercy.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool