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

Did you know?

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

• physical
• bodily

Examples of corporal in a Sentence

Adjective

started to suffer the corporal ailments that come with advancing age

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Eric, a corporal in the U.S. Army, had been stationed overseas for the past four years. —Allison Moses, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2025

Carney, one of the few Black soldiers to hold the rank of corporal in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, is just one of about 150 Black Marylanders who will be honored with a new memorial at the State House in Annapolis. —Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 10 Aug. 2025

Adjective

Shagan and his corporal Saskia (Sophie Robertson) have broken into the safe house and are holding her family hostage. —Nicole Briese, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025

The woman, 41, is being held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, and felony charges of corporal injury to a child and corporal injury of a spouse in the attack. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 19 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for corporal

• puerperal

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