colonel en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkeːnəl/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger
- [ˈkøːnl̩] ~ [ˈkœːnl̩] (New-Zealand)
- [ˈkʌɾnl̩] (Scotland)
- (US) audio
- (General-American) audio
- [ˈkɜːnl̩] ~ [ˈkəː.nl̩] (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkɛːnəl/ Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
- /ˈkʌɾnəl/ (Scotland)
- [ˈkɛːnl̩] ~ [ˈkɛ̠ːnl̩] Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
- /ˈkəːnəl/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- [ˈkəːnl̩] (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈkøːnəl/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈkøːnəl/ (Wales)
- /ˈkɝnəl/ (General-American)
- /ˈkɜːnəl/ (Australia)
- [ˈkeːnl̩] ~ [ˈkɛːnl̩] ~ [ˈkɜːnl̩] Liverpool, fair–fur merger
- [ˈkɜːnl̩] (Australia)
- /ˈkɜːnəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈkøːnl̩] ~ [ˈkœːnl̩] (Wales)
- [ˈkɝnl̩] (General-American)
Etymology
First attested in the 1540s, from Middle French coronnel, from Old Italian colonnello (“the officer of a small company of soldiers (column) that marched at the head of a regiment”), from compagnia colonnella (“little column company”), from Latin columna (“pillar”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”), o-grade form from a Proto-Indo-European *kelH- (“to rise, be elevated, be prominent”). See hill, holm. The French spelling was reformed late 16th century. The English spelling was modified in 1580s in learned writing to conform to the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and differing pronunciations (either with "r" or "l") coexisted until around 1650, where it came to be pronounced with "r" only. Spanish and Portuguese coronel, also from Italian, shows similar evolution by dissimilation and perhaps by influence of corona.
Meanings
-
A commissioned officer in an armed military organization, typically the highest rank before flag officer ranks (generals). It is generally found in armies, air forces or naval infantry (marines).
The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it. […] But there was not a more lascivious reprobate and gourmand in all London than this same Greystone.
1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
-
(historical) A military leader, distinct from the modern professional military rank.
General Charles-Maximilian Fiennes was made colonel of the army.
2009, Ranulph Fiennes, chapter 21, in Mad Dogs and Englishmen: An Expedition Round My Family, London: Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 284:
-
An honorary civilian title bestowed by some southern US states, most commonly Kentucky; notably Colonel Sanders of KFC.
"Colonel" was often used as an honorific, indicating no actual military service: between 1792 and 1916, according to Ron Bryant, a curator at the Kentucky Historical Society, 400 of the 650 colonels commissioned were honorary.
2002, Kate Chopin and Anna Julia Cooper, “Critiquing Kentucky and the South”, in The Southern Literary Journal, volume 35, number 1, page 127:
- (Southern-US, dated) An informal title used to address an elderly man.
- (US) A form of address for an auctioneer, from the American Civil War practice of commanding officers organizing the public sale of seized goods.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Col. | Abbr=Yes | alternative | lexicographic |
| col. | Abbr=Yes | alternative | lexicographic |
| colonels | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| coronel | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
half-colonel · colonelship · colonel-in-chief · colonel general · colonel commandant · chickens for Colonel Sanders · Kentucky colonel · full colonel · lieutenant colonel · coloneless · bird colonel · full eagle colonel · honorary colonel · senior colonel
Relateds
colonelcy · royal colonel · colonel-general
Translations (97)
af kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · ru полко́вник (commissioned office in the armed services) · fr colonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · yi פּאָלקאָווניק (commissioned office in the armed services) · ar كُولُونِيل (commissioned office in the armed services) · kmr serheng (commissioned office in the armed services) · sh pukovnica (commissioned office in the armed services) · hy գնդապետ (commissioned office in the armed services) · sk plukovník (commissioned office in the armed services) · el συνταγματάρχης (commissioned office in the armed services) · uz polkovnik (commissioned office in the armed services) · da oberst (commissioned office in the armed services) · scn culunneḍḍu (commissioned office in the armed services) · ko 상좌 (commissioned office in the armed services) · hu óbester (commissioned office in the armed services) · lt pul̃kininkas (commissioned office in the armed services) · cmn 上校 (commissioned office in the armed services) · ps کرنل (commissioned office in the armed services) · lo ພັນເອກ (commissioned office in the armed services) · kk полковник (commissioned office in the armed services) · ka პოლკოვნიკი (commissioned office in the armed services) · ro colonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · pl pułkownik (commissioned office in the armed services) · fi eversti (commissioned office in the armed services) · sl polkóvnica (commissioned office in the armed services) · he אַלּוּף מִשְׁנֶה (commissioned office in the armed services) · bg полко́вник (commissioned office in the armed services) · hi कर्नल (commissioned office in the armed services) · tl koronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · sq kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · ug پولكوۋنىك (commissioned office in the armed services) · tg полковник (commissioned office in the armed services) · nb oberst (commissioned office in the armed services) · be палко́ўнік (commissioned office in the armed services) · ar عَقِيد (commissioned office in the armed services) · mr कर्नल (commissioned office in the armed services) · lv pulkvedis (commissioned office in the armed services) · tr albay (commissioned office in the armed services) · tg сарҳанг (commissioned office in the armed services) · gl coronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · th พันเอก (commissioned office in the armed services) · tk polkownik (commissioned office in the armed services) · mk полковник (commissioned office in the armed services) · az polkovnik (commissioned office in the armed services) · ja 大佐 (commissioned office in the armed services) · el σμήναρχος (commissioned office in the armed services) · sh pùkōvnīk (commissioned office in the armed services) · az sərhəng (commissioned office in the armed services) · hu ezredes (commissioned office in the armed services) · ko 대령 (commissioned office in the armed services) · yi קאָלאָנעל (commissioned office in the armed services) · uk полко́вник (commissioned office in the armed services) · mn ᠬᠤᠷᠠᠩᠳᠠ (commissioned office in the armed services) · ar زَعِيم رُتْبَة (commissioned office in the armed services) · ro polcovnic (commissioned office in the armed services) · km វរសេនីយ៍ឯក (commissioned office in the armed services) · ms kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · sl polkovnik (commissioned office in the armed services) · lt pul̃kininkė (commissioned office in the armed services) · tt полковник (commissioned office in the armed services) · sh пу̀ко̄внӣк (commissioned office in the armed services) · es coronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · nrf coronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · rup culunel (commissioned office in the armed services) · eo kolonelo (commissioned office in the armed services) · cs plukovník (commissioned office in the armed services) · sv överste (commissioned office in the armed services) · gu કર્નલ (commissioned office in the armed services) · scn culunnellu (commissioned office in the armed services) · mn хурандаа (commissioned office in the armed services) · ug شاڭشياۋ (commissioned office in the armed services) · ky полковник (commissioned office in the armed services) · id kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · vi đại tá (commissioned office in the armed services) · pt coronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · ps ډګروال (commissioned office in the armed services) · mt kurunell (commissioned office in the armed services) · te కర్నల్ (commissioned office in the armed services) · ca coronel (commissioned office in the armed services) · fa-ira سَرْهَنْگ (commissioned office in the armed services) · ps کرنيل (commissioned office in the armed services) · ar زَعِيم (commissioned office in the armed services) · mi kānara (commissioned office in the armed services) · de Oberst (commissioned office in the armed services) · cy gyrnol (commissioned office in the armed services) · ht kolonèl (commissioned office in the armed services) · gv curnal (commissioned office in the armed services) · et kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · sh пуковница (commissioned office in the armed services) · it colonnello (commissioned office in the armed services) · ur کَرْنَل (commissioned office in the armed services) · et polkovnik (commissioned office in the armed services) · yue 上校 (commissioned office in the armed services) · nl kolonel (commissioned office in the armed services) · fa-ira کُلُنِل (commissioned office in the armed services) · kn ಕರ್ನಲ್ (commissioned office in the armed services) · bn কর্নেল (commissioned office in the armed services)