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View synonyms for

corpus

[ kawr-puhs ]

noun

plural corpora or, sometimes, corpuses.
  1. a large or complete collection of writings:

    the entire corpus of Old English poetry.

  2. the body of a person or animal, especially when dead.
  3. Anatomy. a body, mass, or part having a special character or function.
  4. Linguistics. a body of utterances, as words or sentences, assumed to be representative of and used for lexical, grammatical, or other linguistic analysis.
  5. a principal or capital sum, as opposed to interest or income.


corpus

/ ˈɔːə /

noun

  1. a collection or body of writings, esp by a single author or on a specific topic

    the corpus of Dickens' works

  2. the main body, section, or substance of something
  3. anatomy
    1. any distinct mass or body
    2. the main part of an organ or structure
  4. the inner layer or layers of cells of the meristem at a shoot tip, which produces the vascular tissue and pith Compare tunica
  5. linguistics a body of data, esp the finite collection of grammatical sentences of a language that a linguistic theory seeks to describe by means of an algorithm
  6. a capital or principal sum, as contrasted with a derived income
  7. obsolete.
    a human or animal body, esp a dead one
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of corpus1

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English, from Latin
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of corpus1

C14: from Latin: body
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented but said the detained men could file a habeas corpus claim in Texas where they are held.

From

Last month, Hochman also announced his opposition to a third possible avenue to freedom for the brothers — a habeas corpus petition filed by the Menendez defense team seeking a new trial.

From

Besides clemency, the brothers are also pursuing two other avenues of potential freedom: a habeas corpus petition based on new evidence and resentencing.

From

Porter, which concerned President Abraham Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus.

From

It ruled 6-0 in favour of a previous district court decision that said the state's habeas corpus process "only applies to persons, and not to nonhuman animals".

From

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More About Corpus

What doescorpus mean?

Corpus most commonly refers to a large or comprehensive collection of creative works, such as all of the writings of a particular author.

An artist’s corpus is their body of work, and in fact the word corpus comes from the Latin word meaning “body.” (This Latin word appears in the well-known legal phrase habeas corpus, meaning “(you may) have the body.”)

More generally, corpus is used in English to refer to the main body, section, or substance of something.

The word is used in a more specific way in linguistics to refer to an entire set of a particular linguistic element within a language, such as words or sentences.

It’s also used in several more specific ways in the context of anatomy in the names of body parts.

The correct plural of corpus can be either corpora or corpuses. (Other Latin-derived words can be pluralized in the same way as corpora.)

Example: Instead of devoting my dissertation to examining a specific theme throughout her corpus, I decided to focus on a single work.

Where doescorpus come from?

The first records of the use of the word corpus in English come from the 1200s. It comes from the Latin corpus, meaning “body.” This root forms the basis of many words pertaining to the body or referring to a body in the sense of a group, such as corpse and corps.

Corpus most commonly refers to a collection of texts of a particular author or within some category. The corpus of Shakespeare, for example, is the collection of everything he ever wrote. The word collection here doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all kept in one place like a library or a database—it simply refers to everything in existence that fits into that category.

The word corpus isn’t only used for a collection of works by a single author, or even written works. Corpora can exist for all kinds of topics, time periods, and works.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to corpus?

  • corpora (plural)
  • corpuses (plural)

What are some synonyms for corpus?

What are some words that share a root or word element with corpus?

What are some words that often get used in discussing corpus?

How iscorpus used in real life?

Corpus is most often used in an academic context in the analysis of literature, but it can be used in many other situations.

Try usingcorpus!

Which of the following terms could be used in reference to a corpus?

A. collection
B. compilation
C. body of work
D. all of the above

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