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lance corporal

 - 2 dictionary results

lance corporal

 
Use lance corporal in a Sentence
–noun
1. U.S. Marine Corps. an enlisted person ranking between private first class and corporal.
2. British Military.
a. a corporal of the lowest rank.
b. (formerly) a private acting as corporal without increased pay.
Origin:
1780–90; lance, shortened form of earlier lancepesade < MF lancepessade lowest ranking grade of noncommissioned officer < It lancia spezzata superior soldier, lit., broken lance 1 (from having shivered many lances, i.e., fought well in many battles)
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To lance corporal
lance corporal  
n.  

  1. Abbr. LCpl A noncommissioned rank in the U.S. Marine Corps that is above private first class and below corporal.

  2. One who holds this rank.


[From lancepesade, from obsolete French lancepessade, from Italian lancia spezzata, superior soldier : lancia, lance (from Latin lancea; see lance) + spezzata, feminine past participle of spezzare, to break to pieces (Latin dis-, apart; see dis- + pezza, piece from Medieval Latin pecia, piece, from Vulgar Latin *pettia).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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