Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in an army. Modern usage varies greatly, and in some cases, the term is used as an honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military. In some smaller military forces, such as those of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. Equivalent naval ranks may be called

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ship-of-the-line captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

. In the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

's air force ranking system, the equivalent rank is

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

History and origins

By the end of the late medieval period, a group of "companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army. According to Raymond Oliver, , the Spanish began explicitly reorganizing part of their army into 20 ''colunelas'' or columns of approximately 1,000–1,250 soldiers. Each ''colunela'' was commanded by a ''cabo de colunela'' or column head. Because they were crown units who are directly under the control of the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of a country, the units were also confusingly called ''coronelas'', and their commanders ''coronels''. Evidence of this can be seen when

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread po ...

, nicknamed "the Great Captain", divided his armies in ''coronelías'', each led by a ''coronel'', in 1508.Los tercios españoles. La batalla de Pavía
at militar.org.ua (in Spanish, unspecified authorship) Later, in the 16th century, the French army adopted this organizational structure, renaming ''colunelas'' regiments. Even so, they simply Gallicized ''colunela'' to the French ''colonel'' and pronounced it as written. The English then copied the unit and rank from the French. However, for reasons unknown, the English adopted the Spanish pronunciation of ''coronel'', and after several decades of use shortened it to its current two-syllable pronunciation "kernel". ''Colonel'' is linked to the word ''column'' (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''columna''; Italian: ''colonna''; French: ''colonne'') in a similar way that ''brigadier'' is linked to ''brigade'', although in English this relationship is not immediately obvious. With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the 17th century, a colonel (normally a member of the aristocracy) became a holder (German ''Inhaber'') or proprietor of a military contract with a sovereign. The colonel purchased the regimental contract—the right to hold the regiment—from the previous holder of that right or directly from the sovereign when a new regiment was formed or an incumbent was killed. As the office of colonel became an established practice, the colonel became the senior captain in a group of companies that were all sworn to observe his personal authority—to be ruled or regimented by him. This regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonel's regiment or standing regulation(s). By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonel's regiment (in the foregoing sense) came to be referred to as his regiment (in the modern sense) as well. In French usage of this period, the senior colonel in the army or, in a field force, the senior military contractor, was the

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

, and, in the absence of the sovereign or his designate, the colonel general might serve as the commander of a force. The position, however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

. The head of a single regiment or

demi-brigade A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...

would be called a '

mestre de camp Mestre de camp or Maître de camp (; "camp-master") was a military rank in the Ancien Régime of France, equivalent to colonel. A mestre de camp commanded a regiment and was under the authority of a Colonel General, who commanded all the regiment ...

' or, after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, a ' chef de brigade'. By the late 19th century, colonel had evolved to a professional military rank that was still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. Along with other ranks, it has become progressively more a matter of ranked duties, qualifications, and experience, as well as of corresponding titles and pay scale, than of functional office in a particular organization. As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by nearly every nation (albeit under a variety of names). During the 20th century, with the rise of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, some of the large communist militaries saw fit to expand the colonel rank into several grades, resulting, for example, in the unique senior colonel rank, which was found and is still used in such nations as China and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

Colonel-in-chief

In many modern armies, the regiment has more importance as a ceremonial unit or a focus of members' loyalty than as an actual battle formation. Troops tend to be deployed in battalions (commanded by a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

) as a more convenient size of military unit and, as such, colonels have tended to have a higher profile in specialist and command roles than as actual commanders of regiments. However, in Commonwealth armies, the position of the colonel as the figurehead of a regiment is maintained in the honorary role of "colonel-in-chief", usually held by a member of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

, the nobility, or a retired senior military officer. The colonel-in-chief wears a colonel's uniform and encourages the members of the regiment, but takes no active part in the actual command structure or in any operational duties.

Colonel of the Regiment

The title Colonel of the Regiment (to distinguish it from the military rank of colonel) continues to be used in the modern British Army. The ceremonial position is often conferred on retired

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

s or colonels who have a close link to a particular regiment. Non-military personnel, usually for positions within the Army Reserve may also be appointed to the ceremonial position. When attending functions as "Colonel of the Regiment", the titleholder wears the regimental uniform with rank insignia of (full) colonel, regardless of their official rank. A member of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

is known as a Royal Colonel. A Colonel of the Regiment is expected to work closely with a regiment and its

Regimental Association A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripte ...

Colonel by country

Colonel (Canada) Colonel (Col; french: colonel, col) is a Canadian Forces rank used by commissioned officers in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. Captain(N) is the equivalent rank in the Royal Canadian Navy. A colonel is senior to the army and air ...

* Colonel (Eastern Europe) * Colonel (Germanic languages) * Colonel (India) *

Colonel (Pakistan) Colonel is a Field officer, senior officer rank in the Pakistan Army. Said army's rank system is predominantly following the British Army rank and insignia system since Independence of Pakistan, Pakistan's independence from the British Empire in ...

Colonel (Sri Lanka) Colonel (Col) is a senior officer rank in the Sri Lanka Army that is a superior rank to Lieutenant colonel (Sri Lanka), lieutenant colonel and subordinate to Brigadier (Sri Lanka), Brigadier. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-5, equivalent to ...

Colonel (United Kingdom) Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion ...

Colonel (United States) The colonel () in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, is the most senior field-grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. Colonel ...

Insignia

Insignia of army colonels

File:ALB-Army-OF-5.svg, File:Angola-Army-OF-5.svg, File:CR-EA.png, File:Australian Army OF-5.svg, File:Bangladesh-army-OF-5.svg, File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg, File:Army-BEL-OF-05.svg, File:CnelEB.svg, File:Bosnia and Herzegovina Brigadier Insignia.svg, File:Coronel-V.gif, File:Rank insignia of Полковник of the Bulgarian Army.png, File:Cdn-Army-Col(OF-5)-2014.svg, File:Cape Verde-army-OF-5.svg, File:Coronelrch.jpg, File:PLA Colonel.svg, File:Rank insignia of coronel of the Colombian Army.svg, File:Cuba-Army-OF-5.svg, File:CzArmy 2011 OF5-Plukovnik shoulder.svg, File:Rank insignia of oberst of the Royal Danish Army.svg, File:Capona de Coronel Ejercito Nacional.svg, File:14.ECA-COL.svg, File:El-Salvador-Army-OF-5.svg, File:12. EGLF-COL.svg, File:Eversti kauluslaatta.svg, File:Army-FRA-OF-05.svg, File:Georgia Army OF-6.png, File:HD H 53 Oberst ABCAbw.svg, File:Army-GRE-OF-05.svg, File:Guatemala-army-OF-5.svg, File:HON-army-OF-5.svg, File:Rank Army Hungary OF-05.svg, File:Colonel of the Indian Army.svg, File:18-TNI Army-COL.svg, File:Sarhang 1.png, File:IE-Army-OF5.png, File:IDF aluf mishne.svg, File:IT-Army-OF5b.svg, File:Mexico army OF5.svg, File:Monaco-army-OF-5.svg, File:Mongolian Army-COL-parade.svg, File:15-Moroccan Army-COL.svg, File:Mozambique-Army-OF-5.svg, File:Nl-landmacht-kolonel.svg, File:New Zealand-Army-OF-5.svg, File:13-Nicaragua Army-COL.svg, File:Polkovnik-arm.png, File:Army-NOR-OF-05.svg, File:OF-5 Pakistan Army.svg, File:Paraguay-Army-OF-5.svg, File:EP CNEL.png, File:PA COL Svc.svg, File:Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Army of Poland.svg, File:18 - Coronel.svg, File:RO-Army-OF5.png, File:Russia-Army-OF-5-2010.svg, File:14-Serbian Army-COL.svg, File:Army-SVK-OF-05.svg, alt=, File:15.SKA-COL.svg, File:Spain-Army-OF-5.svg, File:SAA-OF-5.svg, File:Syria-Aqid.jpg, File:Sri Lanka-army-OF-5.svg, File:SWE-överste.svg, File:Taiwan-army-OF-5.svg, File:RTA OF-5 (Colonel).svg, File:Turkey-army-OF-5.svg, File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg, File:UA shoulder mark 17.svg, File:British Army OF-5.svg, File:US Army O6 (Army greens).svg, File:CNELEJB-GNB.png, File:Vietnam People's Army Colonel.png, File:12. Myanmar Army COL.svg,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Insignia of air force colonels

File:BE-Air Force-OF5.svg, File:Coronel FAB V.jpg, File:Canadian RCAF OF-5.svg, File:Fach cav.gif, File:RDAF Col.svg, File:French Air Force-colonel.svg, File:Georgia Air Force OF-6.png, File:Luftwaffe-271-Oberst.png, File:18-TNI Navy-CAPT.svg, File: IAF aluf mishne.svg , File:IT-Airforce-OF-5.png, File:15.SKAF-COL.svg, File:Nl-luchtmacht-kolonel.svg, File:PAF COL Svc.svg, File:Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Air Force of Poland.svg, File:Cor t.jpg, File:Russia-Airforce-OF-5-2010.svg, File:14-Serbian Air Force-COL.svg, File:Cor-ea.svg, File:SWE-Airforce-överste.png, File:Taiwan-airforce-OF-5.svg, File:US Air Force O6 shoulderboard.svg, File:6-CNELAMB.png,

Insignia of naval infantry colonels

File:18-TNI Air Force-COL.svg, File:IDF Navy aluf mishne.png, File:PHIL ARMY COL WOODLAND.svg, ROKMC-OF-5.svg, File:Taiwan-Marine-OF-5.svg, File:British Royal Marines OF-5.svg, US Marine O6 shoulderboard vertical.svg,

Insignia of colonels of other services

File:US_Space-force_O6.svg,

Colonel as highest-ranking officer

Some military forces have a colonel as their highest-ranking officer, with no 'general' ranks, and no superior authority (except, perhaps, the head of state as a titular commander-in-chief) other than the respective national government. Examples include the following (arranged alphabetically by country name): *

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

(170 personnel) *

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

(about 8,000 personnel) *

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(100 personnel, employed only for peacekeeping duties) *

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

(commands all the Armed Forces –

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

until 2011) *

(two branches, with a total of about 250 personnel) *

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

(1,800 personnel) (up to 19 June 2020) *

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

(110 personnel – the Swiss Guard)

Other uses of colonel ranks

The term ''colonel'' is also used as a title for auctioneers in the United States; there are a variety of theories or

folk etymologies Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

to explain the use of the term. One of these is the claim that during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

goods seized by armies were sold at auction by the colonel of the division.

Kentucky colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is ...

is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation. This is the equivalent to a full colonel in the militia. The sitting governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky bestows the honor of a colonel's Commission, by issuance of letters patent. Perhaps the best known Kentucky colonel is Harland Sanders of ''

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

'' fame. The rank of colonel is also used by some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Military ranks Police ranks