Colonel (pronounced /ˈkɜrnəl/) (Col or COL) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures. A colonel is typically in charge of a regiment in the army.
Today, a colonel is usually a military title rated as the highest, or the second-highest field rank below the general, or "flag" grades. In some small...
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Colonel (pronounced /ˈkɜrnəl/) (Col or COL) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures. A colonel is typically in charge of a regiment in the army.
Today, a colonel is usually a military title rated as the highest, or the second-highest field rank below the general, or "flag" grades. In some small military forces, it can be the highest rank held.
The term colonel derives from Latin columnella 'small column'. However, it was never actually a Roman rank. The system of ranks in the Roman military was quite different. As a rank the term arose in the late sixteenth century Italy where it referred to the officer in charge of a column (Italian colonna, plural colonne) or field force. The term is first attested as colonnello, but it is perhaps a truncation of something like capitano colonnello 'captain of the column, the captain designated to...
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