colonel

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.

colo·nel

C0486900 (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.

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[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.]

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colo′nel·cy, colo′nel·ship′ n.

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

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.

Thesaurus

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 Corpslieutenant colonel, light colonel - a commissioned officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines holding a rank above major and below colonel

Translations

陆军上校

colonel

(ˈkəːnl) noun (often abbreviated to Col . when written) an army officer in charge of a regiment. 陸軍上校 陆军上校

colonel

→ 陆军上校zhCN