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Webster 1913 Edition

Colonel

Colo′nel

,
Noun.
[F.
colonel
, It.
colonello
, prop., the chief or commander of a column, fr.
colonna
column, L.
columna
. See
Column
.]
(Mil.)
The chief officer of a regiment; an officer ranking next above a lieutenant colonel and next below a brigadier general.

Webster 1828 Edition

Colonel

COLONEL

,
Noun.
The chief commander of a regiment of troops, whether infantry or cavalry. He ranks next below a brigadier-general. In England, colonel-lieutenant is the commander of a regiment of guards, of which the king, prince or other person of eminence is colonel. Lieutenant-colonel is the second officer in a regiment, and commands it in the absence of the colonel.

Definition 2024

colonel

colonel

English

Alternative forms

  • coronel (obsolete)
  • COL. (abbreviation)
  • Col. (abbreviation)

Noun

colonel ‎(plural colonels)

  1. A commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps. In U.S. military, it ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general.

Usage notes

  • When used as a title, it is always capitalized.

Related terms

Translations

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French coronel, from Old Italian; see colonel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɔ.lɔ.nɛl/

Noun

colonel m ‎(plural colonels)

  1. colonel
  2. An ice cream dessert consisting of lemon sherbet and vodka.

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowing from French colonel, from Middle French coronel, which see.

Noun

colonel m ‎(plural colonei)

  1. colonel (military officer above lieutenant-colonel and below general-major)

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowing from German Kolonel.

Noun

colonel n ‎(uncountable)

  1. A letter in a type of font.

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Etymology

First attested 1548, 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 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 *kel- ‎(“to rise, be elevated, be prominent”). See hill, holm.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɜːnəl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɝnəl/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nəl
  • Homophone: kernel

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