ˈkȯrpəs, -ȯəp- noun
( plural corpo·ra -p(ə)rə)
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin
1. : the body of a man or animal especially when dead
2.
a. : the main part or body of a structure or organ
the corpus of the jaw
the corpus of the uterus
b. : the main body or corporeal substance of a thing ; specifically : the principal of a fund or estate as distinct from income or interest
c. : the main body, the substance, or the essential element of a thing
a ferocious metaphysical dispute. The corpus of the dispute was a squirrel — William James
3.
a. : the whole body or total amount of writings of a particular kind or on a particular subject (as the total production of a writer or the whole literature of a subject)
the Dickens corpus
judging the corpus of American literature in the light of these standards — C.I.Glicksberg
b. : a collection or body especially of knowledge or evidence
a sizable corpus of opinion
specifically : the collection of recorded utterances that is used as a basis for the descriptive analysis of a language or dialect
4. in the tunica-corpus theory : the inner of the two growth regions into which the apical meristem is considered divisible consisting of a core of cells which divide at various angles and provide for increase in bulk