Definition of "corporal"

corporal¹

/ˈkɔː.pɹəl/

adjective
not comparable
1. (archaic) Having a physical, tangible body; material, corporeal.
  Quotations
  Into the air; and what seem'd corporal melted as breath into the wind.
  c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene iii]
2. Of or pertaining to the body, especially the human body; bodily.
3. (zoology) Pertaining to the body (the thorax and abdomen), as distinguished from the head, limbs and wings, etc.
  Quotations
  The smaller 9 9 have less elongated fins, drabber corporal colors, and more transparent fins.
  1998, Rüdiger Riehl, Aquarium Atlas, volume 3, page 572

corporal²

/ˈkɔː.pɹəl/

noun
plural corporals
1. (military) A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4. The rank below a sergeant but above a lance corporal and private.
2. A non-commissioned officer rank in the police force, below a sergeant but above a private or patrolman.
3. (mining, historical) A worker in charge of the wagonway, reporting to the deputy.

corporal³

/ˈkɔː.pɹəl/

noun
plural corporals
1. (ecclesiastical) The white linen cloth on which the elements of the Eucharist are placed; a communion cloth.
  Quotations
  He had […] many corporals, chalice-veils, and sudaria
  1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XI, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co.