Kentucky Colonel

/kənˈtʌki/

noun

The greatest title of authority and honor bestown by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, recognizing noteworthy accomplishments, actions, deeds and service to a community, state or a nation.

OriginIroquoian →
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Meanings

Kentucky Colonel1

nounKentucky Colonel (plural Kentucky Colonels)

plural Kentucky Colonels · alternative Col. · alternative Colonel · alternative Kentucky colonel

  1. The greatest title of authority and honor bestown by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, recognizing noteworthy accomplishments, actions, deeds and service to a community, state or a nation.
  2. A natural person who has been recognized with the style of Honorable by the Governor of Kentucky and is granted a Kentucky Colonel Commission.
  3. A person holding the honorable title of colonel who lived in or migrated to Kentucky as the result of a land bounty deed.

    President George H. W. Bush was a Kentucky Colonel.

    2019, Albert W. A. Schmid, How to Drink Like a Spy, page 81
    1 more example

    The scene is laid at New York, in the house of Mr. Freeman, a New York merchant, who is uncle to the Kentucky Colonel.

    April 20, 1833, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The National Gazette (page 1)

Kentucky colonel2

nounKentucky colonel (plural Kentucky colonels)

plural Kentucky colonels

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Kentucky Colonel.

Origin

  1. Iroquoian
  2. EnglishKentucky Colonel

Origin unconfirmed from 1775. As a compound word that was merged from two lexemes the title is a demonym and exonym label that emerged in the early 19th century to refer to the old colonial leaders of Kentucky. In 1896, the state adopted the term as an official referencial title and commission for civilian officers with access to the governor. Kentucky derives from an Iroquoian word meaning "prairie"; compare Mohawk kenhtà:ke (“the meadow”), Seneca gëdá'geh (“at the field”), combined with the title Colonel which meant "head of colony, company or county" as it was originated from the place representative of its territorial leaders and founders as of 1775-1792.

More words from Iroquoian

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Kentucky Colonel

Kentuckyluckyunluckybuckyduckyyuckypluckymuckybakkiebruckybullpuckycluckypuckytruckietrucky
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Kentucky Colonel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kentucky%20Colonel

MLA

“Kentucky Colonel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kentucky%20Colonel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kentucky Colonel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kentucky%20Colonel.

Source: Kentucky Colonel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.