lance corporal Hear it!

lance corporal definition

lance corporal

  1. Brit. Army a private acting temporarily as a corporal
  2. ☆ U.S. Marine Corps an enlisted man ranking below a corporal and above a private first class

Etymology: < obs. lance-(pesade), lance corporal (< MFr lance pessade, infantry officer under the rank of corporal < It lancia spezzata, lit., broken lance) + corporal

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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