Colonel comes from the Italian colonna which means column. The rank signified someone who led a column.
Colonna William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-1-19
Colonna William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-1-19
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Colonel comes from the Italian colonna which means column. The rank signified someone who led a column.
I saw the headline in my email, and thought you might be talking about moustachioed radio and movie personality Jerry Colonna.
“Ahhhh, yes!”
In German, by the way, the word for a colonel is “Oberst”, which is derived from the prepostion “ober”, which means, “above”. It comes from the old muster rolls, that listed a regiment’s members. The colonel’s name appeared at the top of the list, at the “oberste” position.
Further, the Austrian army referred to the regimental command in the Latin, as “prima plana”, “first page”, because those officers appeared on the first page of the muster rolls, above a line separating them from the sergeants, corporals, and the men.
And the German term for non-coms, “Unteroffizier”, “sub-officers”, comes from the usage that their names were printed below that line.
Studying 18th century military history is a hobby of mine.
Very true Brad, but to me Klink will always be a colonel. 🙂