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 or
sovereign 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, nicknamed "the Great Captain", divided his armies in
coronelías, each led by a
coronel, in 1508. Later, in the 16th century, the French army adopted this organizational structure, renaming
colunelas regiments. Even so, they simply Gallicized
colunela to the French 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: ; Italian: ; French: ) in a similar way that
brigadier is linked to
brigade, although in English this relationship is not immediately obvious. 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 officers,
brigadiers 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 is known as a
Royal Colonel. A Colonel of the Regiment is expected to work closely with a regiment and its
Regimental Association. ==Colonel by country==