Where does “Colonel” come from?
Colonel (German) comes from French colonel, from Middle French coronel, from Italian colonnello, from Italian -ello, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
Colonel (German): colonel; Colonel
Definitions
- colonel; Colonel
Ancestry of “Colonel”, step by step
Colonel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French colonel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | colonel | A colonel, highest commissioned officer below... |
| 2 | Middle French | coronel | — |
| 3 | Italian | colonnello | colonel |
| 4 | Italian | -ello | Alterative suffix used to form... |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via English Colonel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Colonel | The military officer title |
| 2 | Middle French | coronnel | colonel; a middle-ranking military officer |
| 3 | Old Italian | colonnello | the officer of a small company of soldiers that... |