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

• 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

The veteran actor, 91, played Klinger, a corporal who wore women's clothes in hopes of being released from the Army throughout all 11 seasons of the long-running CBS series. —Sabienna Bowman, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025

Davis achieved the rank of corporal in the Korean War. —Sophia Tiedge, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Adjective

In addition to murder, prosecutors said a jury also found Lopez guilty of assault on a child under 8 causing death and four counts of corporal injury to a child. —Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2025

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

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