Editing Corporal (section)

{{Short description|Military rank}}
{{about|the military rank}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Military ranks | state=expanded}}
'''Corporal''' is a [[military rank]] in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking [[non-commissioned officer]]. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a [[Section (military unit)|section]] or [[squad]] of soldiers.

The word is a contraction from the [[Italian language|medieval Italian]] phrase {{lang|it|capo corporale}} ({{translation|head of a body}} [of soldiers]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Define 'corporal' |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/corporal |work=[[Dictionary.com]] |access-date=27 May 2011 |year=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524213103/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/corporal |archive-date=24 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> While most [[Indo-European languages]] use the contraction, [[West Iberian languages]] use {{lang|es|cabo}}.<ref name="Spain">{{cite web |title=Army Ranks & Insignia |url=https://ejercito.defensa.gob.es/en/personal/divisas-empleos.html |website=ejercito.defensa.gob.es |publisher=Ministry of Defence (Spain) |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="Portugal_Army">{{cite web |title=POSTOS E DISTINTIVOS EXÉRCITO |url=http://antigo.mdn.gov.pt/defesa/Simbolos/exercito.htm |website=antigo.mdn.gov.pt |access-date=30 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301024102/http://antigo.mdn.gov.pt/defesa/Simbolos/exercito.htm |archive-date=1 March 2010 |language=pt}}</ref>

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