A military rank below sergeant, typically the lowest non-commissioned officer rank. As an adjective, relates to the physical body or bodily punishment.
From Latin 'corporalis' meaning 'of the body' (from 'corpus' meaning body). The military rank developed from the idea of being a 'head of a body' of soldiers, while the bodily meaning remains closer to the original Latin sense.
The military rank 'corporal' literally means 'of the body,' reflecting the ancient military concept that a small unit of soldiers functions like a single body with the corporal as its head - a surprisingly organic metaphor for military organization.
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