colonel (English)

Where does "colonel" come from?

First attested in the 1540s, the English word 'colonel' came from Middle French 'coronnel'[1][3]. This French form derived from Old Italian 'colonnello', meaning 'the officer of a small company of soldiers (column) that marched at the head of a regiment'[1]. The Italian term originated from 'columna', meaning 'pillar', which traces back through Latin to the Proto-Indo-European root '*kelH-', meaning 'to rise, be elevated, be prominent'[1]. The spelling in English was modified in the 1580s to align with the Italian original through the influence of translated military manuals[1].

Open questions

• Spanish and Portuguese forms show evolution by dissimilation and perhaps by the influence of corona. [1]

Full etymology tree

• colonel (English), 'A commissioned officer in an armed military organization, typically the highest rank before flag officer ranks (generals). It is generally found in armies, air forces or naval infantry (marines).'
  • borrowed coronnel (Middle French), 'colonel; a middle-ranking military officer'
    • derived colonnello (Italian), 'colonel'
      • suffix colonna (Italian), 'column, pillar'
        • inherited columna (Latin), 'column, pillar'
          • derived columen (Latin), 'pillar, column'
            • inherited *kelamen (Proto-Italic)
              • inherited *kelH-men- (Proto-Indo-European)
                • derived *kelH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to rise, to be tall'
      • suffix -ello (Italian), 'suffix used to form noun diminutives from nouns (including proper nouns) and sometimes adjectives and verbs, often with a meliorative or hypocoristic sense'
  • influenced by colonnello (Italian), 'colonel'
    • suffix colonna (Italian), 'column, pillar'
      • inherited columna (Latin), 'column, pillar'
        • derived columen (Latin), 'pillar, column'
          • inherited *kelamen (Proto-Italic)
            • inherited *kelH-men- (Proto-Indo-European)
              • derived *kelH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to rise, to be tall'
    • suffix -ello (Italian), 'suffix used to form noun diminutives from nouns (including proper nouns) and sometimes adjectives and verbs, often with a meliorative or hypocoristic sense'

Ancestors

• *kelH- (Proto-Indo-European)
• coronnel (Middle French)
• columna (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• bird colonel (English)
• chickens for Colonel Sanders (English)
• colonel commandant (English)
• coloneless (English)
• colonel general (English)
• colonel-in-chief (English)
• colonelship (English)
• full colonel (English)
• full eagle colonel (English)
• half-colonel (English)
• honorary colonel (English)
• Kentucky colonel (English)

Related words

• captain (English)
• commander (English)

Sources

1. colonel (English) - Wiktionary
2. columna (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. coronnel (Middle French) - Wiktionary
4. colonnello (Italian) - Wiktionary
5. ello (Italian) - Wiktionary
6. colonna (Italian) - Wiktionary
7. ille (Latin) - Wiktionary
8. olnos (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
9. columen (Latin) - Wiktionary
10. culmen (Latin) - Wiktionary
11. olle (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris