Etymology

First attested 1548, from Middle French coronel, from Italian colonnello ‎(“the officer of a small company of soldiers (column) that marched at the head of a regiment”), from compagna 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 *kʷel- ‎(“going around”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ko‧lo‧nel