Link Centre Dictionary

corporal

cor·po·ral

UK/ˈkɔːp(ə)ɹəl/ US/ˈkoɹ.pɚ.əl/ common

noun

1.

a noncommissioned officer in the army or airforce or marines

adjective

1.

affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit

  • “bodily needs”
  • “a corporal defect”
  • “corporeal suffering”
  • “a somatic symptom or somatic illness”
2.

possessing or existing in bodily form

  • “what seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind” Shakespeare
  • “an incarnate spirit”
  • “corporate”

Origin

From Middle English corporall, corporalle, from the Latin corporāle, the neuter of corporālis representing the doctrine of transubstantiation in which the Eucharist becomes the body of Christ.

Phrases

  • corporal punishment
  • corporal's guard
  • lance corporal
  • letter corporal
  • ship's corporal

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.