colonel
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colonel
a commissioned officer in the armed forces
Not to be confused with:
kernel – the central, softer part within a hard shell of a nut or fruit stone; the whole seed of grain such as wheat or corn: Popcorn is made from the kernel of corn.; the nucleus or essential part of anything: There was a kernel of truth in everything she said.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
colo·nel
(kûr′nəl)n.
1.
a. A commissioned rank in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is above lieutenant colonel and below brigadier general.
b. One who holds this rank or a similar rank in another military organization.
2. An honorary nonmilitary title awarded by some states of the United States.
[Alteration of obsolete coronel, from French, from Old Italian colonello, from diminutive of colonna, column of soldiers, from Latin columna, column; see kel- in Indo-European roots.]
colo′nel·cy, colo′nel·ship′ n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
colonel
(ˈkɜːnəl)n
(Military) an officer of land or air forces junior to a brigadier but senior to a lieutenant colonel
[C16: via Old French, from Old Italian colonnello column of soldiers, from colonna column]
ˈcolonelcy, ˈcolonelˌship n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
colo•nel
(ˈkɜr nl)n.
1. an officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps ranking above lieutenant colonel.
2. a commissioned officer of similar rank in other nations.
3. Southern U.S.
a. an honorary title bestowed by some states, esp. on visiting dignitaries.
b. (formerly) a title of respect for an elderly man.
[1540–50; < Middle French < Italian colon(n)ello=colonn(a) column + -ello < Latin -ellus diminutive suffix; so named because such an officer orig. headed the first column or company of a regiment]
colo′nel•cy, n.
pron: colonel (ˈkɜr nl) with its medial l pronounced as (r), illustrates one source for the apparent vagaries of English spelling: divergence between a word's orthographic development and its established pronunciation. In this case, English borrowed from French two variant forms of the same word, one pronounced with medial and final (l), and a second reflecting dissimilation of the first (l) to (r). After a period of competition, the dissimilated form triumphed in pronunciation, while the spelling colonel became the orthographic standard.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  colonel - a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier generalarmed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" commissioned military officer - a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, light colonel - a commissioned officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines holding a rank above major and below colonel |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
عَقيدعَقِيد
plukovník
oberst
eversti
pukovnik
ezredes
ofursti
大佐
육군 대령
pulkininkas
pulkvedis
plukovník
polkovnik
överste
พันเอก
đại tá
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
colonel
(ˈkəːnl) noun (often abbreviated to Col . when written) an army officer in charge of a regiment.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
colonel
→ عَقِيد plukovník oberst Oberst συνταγματάρχης coronel eversti colonel pukovnik colonnello 大佐 육군 대령 kolonel oberst pułkownik coronel полковник överste พันเอก albay đại tá 陆军上校Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009