corporal

   A corporal is a non-commissioned officer in the army who ranks below a sergeant. He, or she, would correctly be addressed by this professional title and might, if the speaker was a private soldier especially, insist on its use. In Ginger, You’re Barmy, by David Lodge, a novel about life in the British army, occurs the following: ‘“Name?” “Browne.” “Browne, Corporal” “Browne, Corporal.”’ In Thomas Hardy’s The Trumpet Major the word is corrupted into ‘corpel’ by a dialect speaker. By those on friendly terms with the man concerned the short form ‘Corp’ might be used. When the Boat Comes In, by James Mitchell, has: ‘“What’ll you have, corporal?” “Less of your corporal,” Headley said. “I’m out now and I’ve got my discharge to prove it.” “All right, Mr Headley,” said Ford. “What’ll you have? ”’ While Headley was still serving he could have been addressed either as ‘Corporal’ or as ‘Corporal Headley’. Shakespeare plays with the word in Henry the Fourth Part Two (3:ii), where the uneducated country bumpkin Peter Bullcalf uses ‘good master corporate Bardolph’ as a term of address. The same speaker addresses Falstaff as ‘good my lord captain’. Ralph Mouldy also has trouble with military titles. For him Bardolph is ‘good master corporal captain’.