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English colonel is pronounced the same as kernel. This seems odd, but there is an explanation. In many languages when a word contains two identical or similar sounds, one of these sounds will often change over a period of time. This kind of change is called dissimilation. So when the Italian word colonello was taken into French, it became coronel; and the word was borrowed by the English from the French in this form. Later the spelling colonel came to be used in order to reflect the Italian origin of the word. But by then the pronunciation with r was well established.

Examples of colonel in a Sentence

He retired as a colonel in the air force.

Recent Examples on the Web James Warren, now a colonel, and the other officers, retold the story. — Ko Lyn Cheang, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Mar. 2022 Tom Parker was a Dutch guy who passed himself off as a Southern colonel. — David Marchese, New York Times, 10 June 2022 While many of the royals arrived by carriage, the Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, took up her traditional position on horseback—an honor afforded to her as a royal colonel of the Household Division. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 3 June 2022 Andrew participated in the last Trooping the Color, in June 2019, as colonel of the Grenadier Guards regiment. — Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 2 June 2022 As colonel, Weaver will lead oversee the Division of Sheriffs, the 911 telephone system, the Capitol police, the Public Safety Grants Administration Office, and the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Apr. 2022 Halvorsen remained in the military after the war, retiring as a colonel in 1974 from the Air Force, reports Richard Goldstein for the New York Times. — David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Feb. 2022 March 1972 - Retires from the Air Force as a colonel. — CNN, 16 Jan. 2022 Prince Andrew, as a colonel in the British Army’s Grenadier Guards, would be expected to attend the Trooping of the Colour, a military parade to mark the queen’s official birthday. — Max Colchester, WSJ, 5 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colonel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.