Adjacent Words

Corporal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CORPORAL, n. [L., head.]
1. The lowest officer of a company of infantry, next below a sergeant. He has charge over one of the divisions, places and relieves sentinels, etc.
2. The corporal of a ship of war, is an officer under the master at arms, employed to teach the sailors the use of small arms; to attend at the gangways or entering ports, and see that no spirituous liquors are brought, except by permission; to extinguish fire and candles, etc.
CORPORAL, a. [L., body.]
1. Belonging or relating to the body; as corporal pain, opposed to mental.
2. Material; not spiritual. [See Corporeal.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; "bodily needs"; "a corporal defect"; "corporeal suffering"; "a somatic symptom or somatic illness" [syn: bodily, corporal, corporeal, somatic]
2: possessing or existing in bodily form; "what seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind"- Shakespeare; "an incarnate spirit"; "`corporate' is an archaic term" [syn: bodied, corporal, corporate, embodied, incarnate] n
1: a noncommissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin corporale, from Latin, neuter of corporalis; from the doctrine that the bread of the Eucharist becomes or represents the body of Christ Date: 14th century a linen cloth on which the eucharistic elements are placed II. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin corporalis, from corpor-, corpus body — more at midriff Date: 14th century 1. obsolete corporeal, physical 2. of, relating to, or affecting the body <corporal punishment> • corporally adverb III. noun Etymology: Middle French, lowest noncommissioned officer, alteration of caporal, from Old Italian caporale, from capo head, from Latin caput — more at head Date: 1579 a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army above a private first class and below a sergeant and in the marine corps above a lance corporal and below a sergeant

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a non-commissioned army or air-force officer ranking next below sergeant. 2 (in full ship's corporal) Brit. an officer under the master-at-arms, attending to police matters. 3 US a freshwater fallfish, Semotilis corporalis. Etymology: obs. F, var. of caporal f. It. caporale prob. f. L corporalis (as CORPORAL(2)), confused with It. capo head 2. adj. of or relating to the human body (cf. CORPOREAL). Phrases and idioms: corporal punishment punishment inflicted on the body, esp. by beating. Derivatives: corporally adv. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L corporalis f. corpus -oris body 3. n. a cloth on which the vessels containing the consecrated elements are placed during the celebration of the Eucharist. Etymology: OE f. OF corporal or med.L corporale pallium body cloth (as CORPORAL(2))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Corporal Cor"po*ral (k[^o]r"p[-o]*ral), n. [Corrupted fr. F. caporal, It. caporale, fr. capo head, chief, L. caput. See Chief, and cf. Caporal.] (Mil.) A noncommissioned officer, next below a sergeant. In the United States army he is the lowest noncommissioned officer in a company of infantry. He places and relieves sentinels. Corporal's guard, a detachment such as would be in charge of a corporal for guard duty, etc.; hence, derisively, a very small number of persons. Lance corporal, an assistant corporal on private's pay. --Farrow. Ship's corporal (Naut.), a petty officer who assists the master at arms in his various duties.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Corporal Cor"po*ral (k[^o]r"p[-o]*ral), Corporale Cor`po*ra"le (-r?"l?), n. [LL. corporale: cf. F. corporal. See Corporal,a.] A fine linen cloth, on which the sacred elements are consecrated in the eucharist, or with which they are covered; a communion cloth. Corporal oath, a solemn oath; -- so called from the fact that it was the ancient usage for the party taking it to touch the corporal, or cloth that covered the consecrated elements.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Corporal Cor"po*ral, a. [L. corporalis, fr. corpus body. See Corpse.] 1. Belonging or relating to the body; bodily. ``Past corporal toil.'' --Shak. Pillories and other corporal infections. --Milton. Corporal punishment (law), punishment applied to the body of the offender, including the death penalty, whipping, and imprisonment. 2. Having a body or substance; not spiritual; material. In this sense now usually written corporeal. --Milton. A corporal heaven . . . .where the stare are. --Latimer. What seemed corporal melted As breath into the wind. --Shak. Syn: Corporal, Bodily, Corporeal. Usage: Bodily is opposed to mental; as, bodily affections. Corporeal refers to the whole physical structure or nature, of the body; as, corporeal substance or frame. Corporal, as now used, refers more to punishment or some infliction; as, corporal punishment. To speak of corporeal punishment is an error. Bodily austerities; the corporeal mold.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(corporals) A corporal is a non-commissioned officer in the army or United States Marines. The corporal shouted an order at the men. ...Corporal Devereux. N-COUNT; N-TITLE

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Bodily. 2. Material, physical, corporeal, not spiritual.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To mount a corporal and four; to be guilty of onanism: the thumb is the corporal, the four fingers the privates.

Moby Thesaurus

NCO, acting corporal, acting sergeant, altar cloth, baldacchino, baldachin, baptismal font, bodily, carnal, centurion, cerecloth, chancel screen, chief warrant officer, chrismal, color sergeant, corporeal, earthly, fanon, first sergeant, fleshly, havildar, hylic, jube, kneeling stool, lance corporal, lance sergeant, master sergeant, material, materiate, mess sergeant, naik, noncom, noncommissioned officer, nonspiritual, oblation cloth, paten, physical, piscina, platoon sergeant, prayer rug, prie-dieu, reredos, rood cloth, rood screen, sacrament cloth, sarge, secular, sergeant, sergeant first class, sergeant major, somatic, staff sergeant, stoup, substantial, technical sergeant, temporal, top sergeant, topkick, unspiritual, warrant officer, worldly