colonel: [17] Historically, a colonel was so called because he commanded the company at the head of a regiment, known in Italian as the compagna colonnella, literally the ‘little-column company’; hence the commander himself took the title colonnella. The word colonnella is a diminutive form of colonna, which is descended from Latin columna ‘pillar’ (source of English column).
It appears first to have entered English via French in the form coronel, in which the first l had mutated to r. Spellings with this r occur in English from the 17th and 18th centuries, and it is the source of the word’s modern pronunciation. Colonel represents a return to the original Italian spelling. => column
colonel (n.)
1540s, coronell, from Middle French coronel (16c.), modified by dissimilation from Italian colonnella "commander of a column of soldiers at the head of a regiment," from compagna colonella "little column company," from Latin columna "pillar" (see column). English spelling modified 1580s in learned writing to conform with the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and pronunciations with "r" and "l" coexisted 17c.-18c., but the earlier pronunciation prevailed. Spanish coronel, from Italian, shows a similar evolution by dissimilation.
双语例句
1. The colonel was rewarded with a resounding cheer from the men.
士兵对上校报以震天的欢呼声。
来自柯林斯例句
2. While he was gone she had tea with the Colonel.
他不在时她跟上校一起喝了茶。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Turkin tapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt, Colonel."
图尔金拍拍他的肩膀。“不好意思打断您一下，上校。”
来自柯林斯例句
4. The Colonel bowed his head and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving.
这位上校低头轻声做感恩祈祷。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The colonel ordered, "I want two good engines down here asap."