The fact that English speakers pronounce “colonel” as “kernel” has always confused me.  The word derives from the Latin columnellus, meaning leader of a (military) column.  When the word entered the French language, we saw it portrayed in two different ways: colonel and coronel (perhaps thinking it was from the Latin corona, meaning crown).  “Coronel” spread to the United States before it was generally accepted to use “colonel” instead.  Eventually, “colonel” became the standard in written English, yet “coronel” stuck in the spoken language.  Thus, we have the pronunciation “kernel.”  This stupid word has brought me so much embarassment when reading aloud in elementary school and middle school….and high school…. and college…