BODY


Meaning of BODY in English

I. ˈbädē, -di noun

( -es )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bodig; akin to Old High German botah body

1.

a. : the total organized physical substance of an animal or plant : the aggregate of tissues : the physical organism: as

(1) : the material part or nature of man

(2) : the dead organism : corpse

(3) : the person of a human being

b. : person : human being

a feckless body who hasn't the faintest idea how to run a house — C.F.Brockington

2. religion

a. : the bread in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper held by some to be and by others to represent Christ's body

b. : the Christian church conceived as a mystical living being of which Christ is the head

c. : the form assumed by man after the resurrection of the dead

3. : the trunk (as of a person, animal, plant) without appendages : the main, central, or principal part of something: as

a. : the nave of a church

b.

(1) : the bed or box of a vehicle on or in which the load is placed

(2) : the enclosed or partly enclosed part of an automobile usually not including the hood and fenders

c. : the part of a garment covering the body or trunk

d.

(1) : the main part of a document, speech, or literary composition as distinguished from the title, preamble, preface, conclusion, or appendixes

(2) : the text of a book as distinguished from the front matter, footnotes, and back matter

(3) : the main part of a social or business letter as distinguished from the heading, salutation, and close

e. : the hull of a ship

f. : the sound box or pipe of a musical instrument

g. : the dominant part of a fortification

h. : tube 3a

i. : the statement of a plaintiff's case in a legal action

j. : the main or the larger part of a tool

the body of a square is its larger arm

k. : the fuselage of an aircraft

1. in printing

(1) : text or ordinary reading matter especially as distinguished from headlines, display lines, footnotes, or tables

a good body type

body matter

(2) : the main matter of a table exclusive of the headings

m. : the largest part of a container ; especially : the part forming the side walls in a metal can body

n. : the main casing of a projectile ; specifically : the part of a projectile between the bourrelet and the rotating band

4.

a. : a mass or portion of matter especially distinct in its totality from other masses

a body of cold air

a body of water

no definite proof that the bodies found were nitrogen bubbles — H.G.Armstrong

b. obsolete : the real as opposed to the symbolical : the substance as opposed to the shadow

c. : one of the seven planets of the old astronomy — called also celestial body, heavenly body

d. : one of the seven metals corresponding to the seven planets of the old astronomy — called also terrestrial body

e. : a solid figure in geometry

f. : a kind or form of matter : a material substance

combining chemical elements to form compound bodies

g. : amount , quantity : bulk , extent

h. : something that embodies, realizes, or gives concrete reality to a thing

see how his theory works in the solid body of a novel — C.C.Walcutt

his intuitions of the future may still give body to a better world — New York Times

specifically : something that is perceptible or realizable as exhibited in space, that has sensible qualities, or that is the cause of sensation

i. obsolete : entity , subject

j. : ore body

5. archaic : a vessel for distilling : cucurbit

6. : a group or number of persons or things: as

a. : a fighting unit : force

a body of cavalry

b. : a group of individuals united by a common tie or organized for some purpose : a collective whole or totality : corporation

a legislative body

a clerical body

the student body of the university

a solid body of educated readers — V.S.Pritchett

c. : a number of particulars regarded as forming a system or embodied in a comprehensive and systematic presentation

a body of facts

a body of law

a body of learning

a body of precedents

7.

a. : viscosity , consistency — used especially of oils and grease

a paint with considerable body is needed to hide the light undercoating

oil used in machinery that heats up must have a good deal of body

b. : compactness or firmness of texture in cloth

c. : fullness or resonance of a musical tone

his baritone has body and richness

d. : fullness or richness of flavor — used of a beverage

e. : import , significance , meaningfulness — usually used of a literary or dramatic work

a play with very little body but quite amusing

f. : strength in intermediate cards (as tens, nines, and eights) in a bridge hand additional to strength in higher cards

8.

a. : a clay or a mixture (as of clay and frit or ground rock) from which clayware is made

b. : a piece of ceramic ware distinct from its glaze

9.

a. : the part of an attachment plug that screws into a lamp holder

b.

(1) : the part of a lamp holder or receptacle that contains the contacts

(2) : a lamp holder and its outer shell

c. : the part of a flexible cord connector that receives the attachment plug cap

10. of printer's type

a. : the part extending from foot to shoulder : all that underlies the bevel

a kerned letter extends beyond the edge of the body

— called also shank ; see type illustration

b. : the distance from belly to back — used as a dimension

a 10-point face on a 12-point body

II. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-es )

Etymology: Middle English bodien, from body (I)

1. : to furnish with a body : give material form or shape to : embody

believed the sovereign state bodied a divine idea

2. : to give form or shape to in imagination or art : represent , symbolize , indicate — often used with forth

never been a poet who enjoyed the sensuous world with more gusto … or who more solidly bodied it forth — Edmund Wilson

an allegorical figure bodying forth the plight of modern man

3. : to give strength, substance, or body to ; specifically : to increase the viscosity of (an oil) usually by heating with resulting polymerization — see bodied oil

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.