Corporal

Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a section or squad of soldiers.

The word is a contraction from the medieval Italian phrase capo corporale (transl. head of a body [of soldiers]).[1] While most Indo-European languages use the contraction, West Iberian languages use cabo.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Define 'corporal'". Dictionary.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Army Ranks & Insignia". ejercito.defensa.gob.es. Ministry of Defence (Spain). Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  3. ^ "POSTOS E DISTINTIVOS EXÉRCITO". antigo.mdn.gov.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2021.