A colonel is a high‑ranking officer in the army, air force, or marines, usually in charge of a large group of soldiers. It is just below the rank of general in many military systems.
“Colonel” comes from French “coronel,” from Italian “colonnello,” meaning “column leader,” from “colonna” (column of soldiers). English kept the French spelling but shifted back toward the older “l” sound in the pronunciation, creating today’s mismatch.
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