body English · revision 2319

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700 (Old English bodæi)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈbɒd.i/, US /ˈbɑː.di/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bodi]], [[inh|ang|bodig]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) earlier [[m|ang|bodæi]] or [[m|ang|bodeg]].^(Barnhart 1988) It corresponds to [[goh|botah]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) but has no relatives outside West Germanic,^(Barnhart 1988) and its origin is unknown.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) The German word died out and was replaced by [[m|de|Leib]] (originally “life”) and [[m|de|Körper]], from Latin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The trunk or the whole physical frame of a person or animal; also the main part of anything: Old English ''bodæi'', about 700.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Body'' was set against the soul from at least the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline) It meant “corpse” from about 1200^(Etymonline) and “a person” by about 1300,^(Etymonline) and in Middle English it was extended to matter in general, as in ''heavenly body'' (late 14th century).^(Etymonline) From the main part of a thing came the body of a vehicle (1520s), and it was used of the part of a dress covering the trunk from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) A group of people taken together is a ''body'' from the 1590s, and the main part of a document from the 1660s.^(Etymonline) ''Body politic'' (late 15th century) keeps the French word order.^(Etymonline) ''Over my dead body'' is recorded from 1833.^(OED 1989) Modern compounds include ''body image'' (1934), ''body language'' (1967) and ''body count'' (1968, from the Vietnam War).^(Etymonline) The verb “to give a body to” is from about 1449.^(OED 1989) ''Bodily'' dates from about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – Old English ''bodæi''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a corpse.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – a person, and ''bodily''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – ''heavenly body''.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – ''body politic''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – the body of a vehicle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – a group of people.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1833 – ''over my dead body''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1967 – ''body language''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – ''body count''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The whole physical structure of a person or animal.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A dead body; a [[corpse]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The [[trunk]] or torso.^(AHD)

+ # A person: ''a nice old body''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A group regarded as a unit: ''a governing body''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The main or central part of something, such as a vehicle or a piece of writing.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A mass of matter: ''a heavenly body''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give a body or shape to; usually ''body forth''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bodice]]

+ * [[embody]]

+ * [[busybody]]

+ * [[anybody]]

+ * [[somebody]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ RHWU compares ''body'', the physical frame of a person or animal, alive or dead, with ''carcass'', used of a dead animal (or jokingly of a person), ''corpse'', used only of a dead human, and ''cadaver'', a dead body, especially one used for dissection.^(RHWU)^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}