colonel
noun /ˈkɜːnl/
/ˈkɜːrnl/
(abbreviation Col.)
- an officer of high rank in the army, the marines, or the US air force
- Colonel Jim Edge
Homophones colonel | kernelcolonel kernelTopics War and conflictc1/ˈkɜːnl//ˈkɜːrnl/- colonel noun
- The colonel yelled out to his troops.
- kernel noun
- The sun-dried tomato and pine kernel topping was delicious.
Word Originmid 16th cent.: from obsolete French coronel (earlier form of colonel), from Italian colonnello ‘column of soldiers’, from colonna ‘column’, from Latin columna. The form coronel, source of the modern pronunciation, was usual until the mid 17th cent.