corporal

1 of 3

noun (1)

: 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

corporal

2 of 3

adjective

1

: of, relating to, or affecting the body

corporal punishment

corporal works of mercy

2

obsolete : corporeal, physical

corporally

ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rə-lē 

adverb

corporal

3 of 3

noun (2)

cor·​po·​ral ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rəl 

: a linen cloth on which the eucharistic elements are placed

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The Various Uses of Corporal

The adjective corporal today usually appears in the phrase corporal punishment, which means "bodily punishment". This used to include such acts as mutilation, branding, imprisonment, and even death. But today execution comes under the separate heading of "capital punishment", which originally involved losing your head (capit- meaning "head"). Milder forms of corporal punishment are used by American parents, and were once common in schools as well. Corporal is occasionally used in other ways; in the traditional church, the "corporal works of mercy" include seven helpful acts such as sheltering the homeless and burying the dead. Corporal as a military rank actually comes from caporal—which has the same root as capital.

Synonyms

Adjective

• animal
• bodily
• carnal
• corporeal
• fleshly
• material
• physical
• somatic

Examples of corporal in a Sentence

Adjective

started to suffer the corporal ailments that come with advancing age

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Investigators said Heredia called a corporal with the Marine Corps after the crash and asked them to remove a trash bag from the car and take it to a local recruiting office. —Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Nov. 2024

The resolution, which was approved by the Antioch City Council 4-0 on Tuesday night, will pay the department’s sergeants, corporals, officers, community service officers, and dispatch personnel who work extra shifts double-time pay, which is twice the standard rate. —Hema Sivanandam, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Nava was convicted Tuesday on nine felony counts, including first-degree murder, torture, kidnapping, aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of child pornography and inflicting corporal injury to a current or former cohabitant. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 18 Oct. 2024

Two weeks prior, Chigvintsev was arrested on accusations of corporal injury to spouse in Napa, Calif. on Aug. 29. —Esther Kang, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from Middle French, "lowest noncommissioned officer," alteration (by association with cors, corps "body," Latin corporālis "of the body") of caporal, borrowed from Italian caporale "leader of a small military unit," probably from Medieval Latin capor-, capur-, restructuring of Latin capit- (stem of caput "head") + Italian -ale, noun and adjective suffix, going back to Latin -ālis -al entry 1 — more at head entry 1

Adjective

Middle English corporel, corporal, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French corporel, borrowed from Latin corporālis "of the body, corporeal," from corpor-, corpus "body" + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at midriff

Noun (2)

Middle English corporalle, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French corporal, borrowed from Medieval Latin corporāle (probably originally as modifying linteāmen "linen cloth" or a word of similar sense), from neuter of Latin corporālis "of the body, corporeal" (alluding to the belief that the eucharistic elements are the body of Christ) — more at corporal entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1579, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing corporal

• corporal punishment
• corporal's guard
• lance corporal

Kids Definition

corporal

1 of 2 adjective

cor·​po·​ral ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rəl 

: of or relating to the body

whipping and other corporal punishments

corporally

-ē

adverb

corporal

2 of 2 noun

: a noncommissioned officer in the army or marines with a rank just below that of sergeant

Medical Definition

corporal

adjective

cor·​po·​ral ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rəl 

: of, relating to, or affecting the body

corporal punishment