corpo Italian · revision 37782

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1087, Postilla amiatina|origins=ine-pro *ḱrep-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkɔr.po/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''corpo''' ''m'' (plural corpi)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian had a feminine plural [[roa-oit|corpora]], from the Latin neuter plural, still found in literary use.^(GDLI|3, 803)^(Zingarelli 2010) An old singular is [[roa-oit|corpore]].^(DEI|1120)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Other old forms include [[roa-oit|cuorpo]], [[roa-oit|corpu]] and [[roa-oit|korpo]].^(TLIO)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|corpus|t=body; corpse; substance; body of people]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin neuter became a masculine noun in Italian.^(Körting 1907)^(GDLI|3, 803) The word is pan-Romance: [[fr|corps]], [[oc|cors]], [[ca|cos]], [[es|cuerpo]], [[pt|corpo]], [[sc|corpus]] and [[ro|corp]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Latin passed it on to [[cy|corff]], [[de|Körper]] and [[eu|korpitz]].^(DEI|1120)^(REW 1935) The learned derivatives, such as [[corporale]], [[corporeo]], [[corpulento]] and [[corpuscolo]], came into Italian directly from Latin, and [[corpus]] is a later learned doublet.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ DELI calls the origin of the Latin word uncertain.^(DELI 1999) De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*korp-os-]] and [[ine-pro|*ḱrp-os-|t=body]], and compares [[sa|कृप्|tr=kṛp-|t=appearance]], [[ae|kəhrp-|t=figure, body]], [[ang|hrif|t=belly, womb]] and [[goh|href|t=lap, belly]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini adds [[grc|πραπίς|tr=prapís|t=diaphragm]] and [[cu|чрѣво|tr=črěvo|t=belly]], and notes that Indo-European anatomical words are rare and vague in meaning.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is the ''Postilla amiatina'' of 1087, one of the earliest texts in Italian, and Nocentini dates the word to that year.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI dates the sense “the physical structure of a human or animal” to Rinaldo d'Aquino, early in the 13th century, and “a portion of matter with a given shape” to Ubertino d'Arezzo, before 1266, the date GRADIT gives.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 14th century the word had most of its modern senses: a body of people with common rules (13th–14th century, statutes of the Company of Orsanmichele), a military unit (before 1292, Bono Giamboni), the belly (before 1342, Cavalca), the main part of something and the hull of a ship (before 1363, Matteo Villani), and a complete collection of writings (before 1375, Boccaccio).^(DELI 1999) The phrase ''andare di corpo'' “to empty the bowels” goes back to the sense “belly”.^(DEI|1120) Later senses are the sound box of a stringed instrument (1561) and the body of a printing type (1797).^(DELI 1999) German borrowed the military sense as ''Corpo'' in 1728.^(DIFIT)

+

+ Several phrases came from French: ''guardia del corpo'' (16th century) from ''gardes du corps'', and ''corpo a corpo'' (about 1914), first of hand-to-hand fighting and then in boxing, where it replaced English ''clinch''.^(DEI|1120) ''Corporazione'' renders French ''corporation'' (1530); it spread in Italy in the Napoleonic period and was taken up again under Fascism, with ''corporativo'' and ''corporativismo''.^(DELI 1999) Latin ''corpus mysticum'' meant the Eucharist until the second half of the 12th century, and only then the Church.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1087 – ''Corpo'' appears in the ''Postilla amiatina''.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Early 13th century – Rinaldo d'Aquino uses it for the human body.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1266 – Ubertino d'Arezzo uses it for a portion of matter.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for a military unit.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses it for the belly.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses it for a collection of writings.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1728 – German first records ''Corpo'' in the military sense.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1797 – It is recorded for the body of a printing type.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1914 – ''Corpo a corpo'' is taken from French ''corps à corps''.^(DEI|1120)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(physics)'' A [[m|en|body]], a portion of matter with its own shape and properties: ''corpi solidi, liquidi e gassosi'', ''corpo celeste'', a heavenly body.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The body of a human being or animal; build, [[m|en|physique]]: ''Dopo la corsa mi faceva male tutto il corpo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The flesh, as opposed to the soul or spirit: ''i piaceri del corpo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The trunk of the body, ''(popular)'' the belly.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A dead body, [[m|en|corpse]]: ''Il corpo fu ritrovato nel fiume.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The main part of something: the body of a building, an engine or a text.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+ # A whole made of many parts; a complete collection of works or laws: ''il corpo delle leggi romane''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A body of people with a common function, a [[m|en|corps]]: ''corpo diplomatico'', ''corpo di ballo'', ''(military)'' a unit: ''corpo d'armata''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Consistency, substance: of wine, fullness, ''prendere corpo'', to take shape.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(printing)'' The body of a type, its size in points.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[corpetto]]

+ * [[corpino]]

+ * [[corporale]]

+ * [[corporatura]]

+ * [[corporazione]]

+ * [[corporativo]]

+ * [[corporeo]]

+ * [[corposo]]

+ * [[corpulento]]

+ * [[corpuscolo]]

+ * [[corpacciuto]]

+ * [[scorpacciata]]

+ * [[incorporare]]

+ * [[scorporare]]

+ * [[accorpare]]

+ * [[anticorpo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[corpus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases include ''guardia del corpo'' “bodyguard”, ''corpo a corpo'' “hand-to-hand fighting”, ''anima e corpo'' “wholeheartedly”, ''a corpo morto'' “with all one's might”, ''avere il diavolo in corpo'' “to be restless or furious” and ''corpo del reato'' “material evidence of a crime”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}