English → Latin
“colonel” in Latin
praeficiōto place in command, put in chargelegōto collect, gather, bring together, catch; to choose, select; to appointcenturiōto divide into groups of one hundred; to arrange into companies; having voted according to centuries
The English word colonel itself goes back to Latin columen, through columna.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
colonel
dux praefectusque militum: plur., primorum ordinum centuriones: tribunus militum (of infantry): praefectus (of cavalry): praefectus praetorio (time of the emperors, colonel of the imperial guards). Lieulenant-colonel (perhaps) legatus: to be colonel, ordines ducere: the rank of a colonel, centuriatus: in hopes of being made colonel, spe ordinis (Caes., B.G., 1, 3).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for colonel?
- The usual Latin words for “colonel” are praeficiō, legō, centuriō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.