corps English · revision 6786

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1704|origins=la corpus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔː(r)/ ''(UK)''; /kɔːr/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|corps|t=body]], short for [[m|fr|corps d'armée|t=army corps]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|corpus|t=body]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*kʷrep-|t=body, form]].^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[corpse]], which was the earlier spelling of the same word.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A part of an army organized under a commander: 1704, in French phrases picked up during Marlborough's campaigns;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the meaning of a military unit is first recorded in Addison's writing in ''The Spectator'' in 1711.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) MWU has 1707.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart notes much older uses of corps in English for a dead or living body and for a body of citizens (1429), which belong to the history of [[corpse]].^(Barnhart 1988) A body of persons working together in any organization is from about 1730.^(OED 1989) The ''corps diplomatique'' is from 1796 and the ''corps de ballet'' from 1826,^(OED 1989) and a students' society in a German university is a corps from 1874.^(OED 1989) The plural is spelled the same but pronounced with a final /z/.^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1704 – corps d'armée.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1711 – a military unit, in Addison.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1730 – any organized body of people.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – corps diplomatique.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1826 – corps de ballet.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A branch of the armed forces with a particular function: ''the medical corps''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A military unit of two or more [[division|alt=divisions]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A group of people working together: ''the press corps''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[corpsman]]

+ * [[diplomatic corps]]

+ * [[marine corps]]

+ * [[press corps]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[corpse]]

+ * [[corpus]]

+ * [[corporal]]

+ * [[corporation]]

+ * [[corpulent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}