lance corporal

noun

1. U.S. Marine Corps. an enlisted person ranking between private first class and corporal.
2. British Military.
   1. a corporal of the lowest rank.
   2. (formerly) a private acting as corporal without increased pay.

lance corporal

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer of the lowest rank in the British Army

Word History and Origins

Origin of lance corporal¹

1780–90; lance, shortened form of earlier lancepesade < Middle French lancepessade lowest ranking grade of noncommissioned officer < Italian lancia spezzata superior soldier, literally, broken lance ¹ (from having shivered many lances, i.e., fought well in many battles)

Example Sentences

Davis was just promoted to lance corporal on Jan. 1, having enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2019.

From Los Angeles Times

He says he got changed into his uniform and returned to prove to the lance corporal that he was a soldier and to make it clear he could have handled to situation better.

From BBC

It was Patton’s birthday weekend — the lance corporal had just turned 20 — so, according to his father, he decided to celebrate by going to a hip-hop show in Los Angeles with two friends.

From Los Angeles Times

The former lance corporal in the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment from Blackwood, Caerphilly county, died on 3 September.

From BBC

That was where she met her husband, George Puttock, a lance corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals.

From BBC