Corporal

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈkɔː.pɹəl/

Definitions

1. A type of punishment that directly impacts the physical form is often associated with the flesh, rather than emotional or mental dimensions
2. A low-ranking noncommissioned officer in the army or marines; pertaining to the physical or bodily aspect of a person; a form of punishment that involves physical pain or harm to the body
3. A junior military officer rank below sergeant; concerning the anatomy or physical substance of a person; punishment administered through direct physical pain

Etymology: Three unrelated words share the spelling "corporal," and the adjective is the simplest of them. It comes from Latin "corpus," meaning body, through Old French "corporel," and it has been used in English since the Middle Ages to mean something belonging to the physical body. It is the sibling of "corporeal," which took a similar route from the same Latin source. The noun for a low-ranking soldier has a different ancestry. It derives from Italian "caporale," from "capo," meaning head or leader, which goes back to Latin "caput." French "caporal" was probably reshaped by the adjective's spelling, so the military rank and the bodily adjective ended up looking identical in English even though they share no root. The third sense, a linen cloth used at the altar in the Eucharist, comes from the Latin "corporale," the neuter form of the same adjective. The cloth was named for the body of Christ it held, reflecting the doctrine of transubstantiation, in which the consecrated bread becomes that body.

Synonyms: physical, bodily, material

Antonyms: spiritual, immaterial, nonphysical