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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
Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 13 Nov. 2024
The judge followed the recommendation, allowing the three Navy officers and a Marine colonel to plead to lesser charges.
—Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024
On Tuesday, the military said four more soldiers were killed in the fighting in northern Gaza, bringing the toll since the start of the operation to 16, including a colonel.
—Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024
Biden garnered 40% more votes than Barack Obama did in the 2008 election, the colonel said, according to Van Essen.
—Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for colonel 
Dictionary Entries Near colonel
Cite this Entry
“Colonel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colonel. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
an altered form of earlier coronel "colonel," from early French coronel (same meaning), from early Italian colonnello "colonel, column of soldiers," derived from Latin columna "column" — related to column
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