corporal

1
[ kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl ]
See synonyms for corporal on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of the human body; bodily; physical: corporal suffering.

  2. Zoology. of the body proper, as distinguished from the head and limbs.

  1. personal: corporal possession.

  2. Obsolete. corporeal; belonging to the material world.

Origin of corporal

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English corporal, corporel, from Old French corporal and Latin corporālem, from corporālis “bodily, physical,” equivalent to corpor- (stem of corpus “body” (alive or dead) + -ālis adjective ending; see -al1

synonym study For corporal

1. See physical.

Other words for corporal

Other words from corporal

  • cor·po·ral·i·ty, noun
  • cor·po·ral·ly, adverb

Other definitions for corporal (2 of 3)

corporal2
[ kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl ]

nounMilitary.
    • a noncommissioned officer ranking above a private first class in the U.S. Army or lance corporal in the Marines and below a sergeant.

    • a similar rank in the armed services of other countries.

  1. Corporal, a U.S. surface-to-surface, single-stage ballistic missile.

Origin of corporal

2
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French corporal, variant of cap(p)oral (influenced by adjective corporal “bodily”), from Italian caporale, apparently a contraction of the phrase capo corporale “corporal head, bodily head” that is, head of a body (of soldiers); See caput, corporal1

Other words from corporal

  • cor·po·ral·cy, cor·po·ral·ship, noun

Other definitions for corporal (3 of 3)

corporal3
[ kawr-per-uhl, -pruhl ]

nounEcclesiastical.
  1. a fine cloth, usually of linen, on which the consecrated elements in the Eucharist are placed or with which they are covered.

Origin of corporal

3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English corporal(le), from Medieval Latin corporālis (palla), corporāle (pallium) “eucharistic (altar cloth)”; replacing earlier corporas, corporaus, from Old French corporaus, corporals, from Latin corporālis (palla), as above; see also pall1, pallium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use corporal in a sentence

  • A number of excellent sergeants and corporals did not have the necessary grounding to enable them to pass the examinations.

    War in the Garden of Eden | Kermit Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for corporal (1 of 3)

corporal1

/ (ˈkɔːpərəl, -prəl) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to the body; bodily

  2. an obsolete word for corporeal

Origin of corporal

1
C14: from Latin corporālis of the body, from corpus body

Derived forms of corporal

  • corporality, noun
  • corporally, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for corporal (2 of 3)

corporal2

/ (ˈkɔːpərəl, -prəl) /


noun
  1. a noncommissioned officer junior to a sergeant in the army, air force, or marines

  2. (in the Royal Navy) a petty officer who assists the master-at-arms

Origin of corporal

2
C16: from Old French, via Italian, from Latin caput head; perhaps also influenced in Old French by corps body (of men)

Derived forms of corporal

  • corporalship, noun

British Dictionary definitions for corporal (3 of 3)

corporal3

corporale (ˌkɔːpəˈreɪlɪ)

/ (ˈkɔːpərəl, -prəl) /


noun
  1. a white linen cloth on which the bread and wine are placed during the Eucharist

Origin of corporal

3
C14: from Medieval Latin corporāle pallium eucharistic altar cloth, from Latin corporālis belonging to the body, from corpus body (of Christ)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012