corp

Forms

corp n (plural corpuri)^[1] Old variants are corpos and corpus: Tiktin cites corpos de oaste “army corps” from Dionisie and Kogălniceanu's edition of the chronicles, and the plural corpusuri from Dionisie.^[2][3][4] Besides the neuter plural corpuri there is a masculine plural corpi, used in physics and chemistry: corpi străini “foreign bodies”.^[5][6]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French corps according to DELR and MDA2, with Latin corpus (“body”) beside it in MDA2: a learned word of the 18th and 19th centuries, whose route the sources describe differently.^[3][4] DER takes it from the Latin word in the 18th century, first through German or Russian, later through French.^[7][1] Tiktin names New Latin, French and Russian корпус (korpus).^[2] DELR explains the variant spelled ⟨corpus⟩ by New Latin, perhaps also through Polish korpus, and the variant spelled ⟨corpos⟩ by an unidentified intermediary, possibly Modern Greek.^[3] The Russian word itself came from Polish or German Korpus, from Latin.^[8]

The Latin word was not lost everywhere: Megleno-Romanian corp is a popular word, which Pușcariu and DER take as inherited.^[9][7] DELR adds that it may also survive in Aromanian and in some Daco-Romanian dialects, and the DA notes that the word seems to be a folk word in some regions.^[3][5] For the standard language Pușcariu held it to be a learned word, the folk word for the body being trup.^[9] Its Romance cognates include Italian corpo, Spanish cuerpo and Portuguese corpo.^[10] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱrp- (“body”), with cognates in Celtic, Germanic and Indo-Iranian.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is the variant corpos in Dimitriu's Ponturi of 1772.^[3] Tiktin dates corp from a text of 1774, and MDA2 cites it from the Moldavian chronicles as Kogălniceanu printed them.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with two groups of senses: the human or animal body, often set against the soul, and a body of people or troops, as in corp de armată “army corps”, where Tiktin's old forms corpos de oaste belong.^[3][2] Through French it took on the senses of physics and chemistry (any portion of matter, a substance), the main part of an object or building, the body of a letter or book, and the size of printing type.^[5][6][12] Collective phrases such as corp didactic “teaching staff”, corp diplomatic and corp legislativ copy French ones.^[2][5] Scriban noted that corpul studențesc means the same as the native collective studențime.^[13]

Most of the word family was borrowed from French and Latin as well, not formed in Romanian: corporație (1832), corpolent (1838), corporal (1846), corpuscul (1862), anticorp (1908).^[3]

Timeline

• 1772 – the variant corpos in Dimitriu's Ponturi, the first record.^[3]
• 1774 – corp in a text cited by Tiktin.^[2]
• 1832 – corporație in the Organic Regulation of Wallachia.^[3]
• 1838 – corpulent “stout”.^[3]
• 1846 – corporal “bodily”.^[3]
• 1848 – corp in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms, glossed with trup.^[14]
• 1862 – corpusclu, the old form of corpuscul.^[3]
• 1908 – anticorp “antibody”, from French.^[3]
• 1919 – corpus “collection of texts”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The body of a living being, all its organs taken as one whole; the trunk, without head and limbs; a corpse.^[6][1]
2. The main part of an object, building or machine; the text of a letter or book without its opening and closing.^[6][4]
3. (physics, chemistry) A portion of matter; a definite substance: corp simplu “element”, corp străin “foreign body”.^[6][12]
4. A body of people formed by their office or profession: corp didactic “teaching staff”, corp diplomatic, corp de balet.^[12][2]
5. (military) A large unit made up of several divisions, an army corps.^[15][13]
6. (printing) The unit that measures the size of type.^[12][15]

Word family

• anticorp
• corpolent
• corporal
• corporatism
• corporativ
• corporație
• corpus
• corpuscul
• extracorporal

Related words

• trup

Usage notes

Corp la corp means “hand to hand” (of fighting), and a face corp comun cu cineva “to join forces with someone”.^[6][4] Corp delict is the object used to commit an offence.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. corp
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. corp
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 516
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. corp
6. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 239
7. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. corp
8. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 2, 645
9. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 35
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2253
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ a b c d e Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. corp
13. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 352
14. ^ Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. corp
15. ^ a b Breban, Vasile (1980), Dicționar al limbii române contemporane de uz curent, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 124