colonel Hear it!

colonel definition

colonel (kʉr′nəl)

noun

  1. a military officer ranking above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general, and corresponding to a captain in the navy
  2. ☆ an honorary, nonmilitary title in some southern or western U.S. states

Etymology: earlier coronel < Fr colonel, coronel (-r- by dissimilation) < It colonello < colonna, (military) column < L columna, column; Fr & E sp. modified after L & It, but older pronun. kept in E

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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