CORPORAL

Dictionary of Science, Literature and Art · 1854 · p. 8

(Fr. caporal, from capo, a head.) A noncommi ioned officer in a battalion of infantry immediately under the Serjeant; his busine is to place and relieve the sentinels, and at drill he has charge of a squad. In the ranks he does the duties of a private, but his pay is somewhat higher. [s. 300]