corps

See also: Corps, corps., and Corps.

English

Etymology 1

From French corps d’armée (literally “army body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Doublet of corpse and corpus. See also English riff.

Pronunciation

singular

• (horse–hoarse merger)
  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kô, IPA^(key): /kɔː/
  • (General American) enPR: kôr, IPA^(key): /koɹ/, [kʰo̞ɹ]

    Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
  • Homophones: core, cor; caw (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
• (without the horse–hoarse merger)
  • (rhotic) enPR: kōr, IPA^(key): /ko(ː)ɹ/
  • (non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /koə/

plural

• (horse–hoarse merger)
  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kôz, IPA^(key): /kɔːz/
  • (General American) enPR: kôrz, IPA^(key): /koɹz/, [kʰo̞ɹz]
  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)z
  • Homophones: cores; cause, caws (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
• (without the horse–hoarse merger)
  • (rhotic) enPR: kōrz, IPA^(key): /ko(ː)ɹz/
  • (non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /koəz/

Noun

corps (plural corps)

1. (military) A battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions.
2. An organized group of people united by a common purpose.

   diplomatic corps

   White House press corps

Derived terms

• avant-corps
• corper
• corps-a-corps
• corps de logis
• corpsman
• corpsperson
• corpswoman
• diplomatic corps
• free corps
• juste-au-corps
• marine corps
• press corps
• staff corps

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *krep- (0 c, 11 e)

Translations

battlefield formation

• Albanian: korpus (sq) m
• Arabic: فَيْلَق m (faylaq)
• Armenian: կորպուս (hy) (korpus)
• Azerbaijani: korpus
• Belarusian: ко́рпус m (kórpus)
• Bulgarian: ко́рпус (bg) m (kórpus)
• Catalan: cos (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 軍團 / 军团 (gwan¹ tyun⁴)

  Mandarin: 軍團 / 军团 (zh) (jūntuán)

• Czech: sbor (cs) m
• Danish: korps (da) n
• Dutch: korps (nl) n
• Estonian: korpus
• Finnish: armeijakunta (fi)
• French: corps (fr) m
• Georgian: კორპუსი (ḳorṗusi)
• German: Korps (de) n
• Hebrew: גַּיִס (he) m (gáyis)
• Hungarian: hadtest (hu)
• Ido: korpo (io), armeokorpo (io)
• Irish: cór m
• Italian: corpo (it) m, genio (it) m
• Japanese: 軍団 (ja) (ぐんだん, gundan), 部隊 (ja) (ぶたい, butai)
• Kazakh: корпус (korpus)
• Khmer: កងទ័ព (kɑɑng tŏəp)
• Korean: 군단(軍團) (ko) (gundan), 부대(部隊) (ko) (budae)
• Kyrgyz: корпус (ky) (korpus)
• Latvian: korpuss m
• Lithuanian: korpusas m
• Macedonian: ко́рпус m (kórpus)
• Malay: kor (ms)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: корпус (mn) (korpus)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: korps (no) n

  Nynorsk: korps n

• Persian: سپاه (fa) (sepâh)
• Portuguese: corpo (pt) m
• Romanian: corp (ro) n
• Russian: ко́рпус (ru) m (kórpus)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ко̀рпус m

  Roman: kòrpus (sh) m

• Slovak: zbor m
• Slovene: korpus m
• Spanish: cuerpo (es) m
• Tajik: сипоҳ (sipoh)
• Turkish: kolordu (tr)
• Turkmen: korpus (tk)
• Ukrainian: ко́рпус (uk) m (kórpus)
• Uyghur: كورپۇس (korpus)
• Uzbek: korpus (uz)
• Vietnamese: quân đoàn (vi) (軍團)
• Welsh: corfflu m

group of people

• Catalan: cos (ca) m
• Estonian: korpus
• Finnish: -kunta (fi)
• Greek: σώμα (el) n (sóma)
• Hungarian: testület (hu)
• Ido: korpo (io)
• Italian: corpo (it) m
• Macedonian: ко́рпус m (kórpus)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: korps (no) n

  Nynorsk: korps n

• Portuguese: corpo (pt) m
• Romanian: corp (ro) n
• Russian: ко́рпус (ru) m (kórpus)
• Spanish: cuerpo (es) m
• Swedish: -kår (sv) n
• Welsh: corfflu m

Etymology 2

Noun

corps (plural corps)

1. A corps de ballet.
   • 1981 December 12, David Foushee, “Pushing the Edges”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 21, page 6:

     The performers were all creditable dancers as well as comedians […] even the largest of them cavorted about en pointe with wonderful ease, and the corps work was extremely precise in its inaccuracies.

Etymology 3

Clipping.

Noun

corps

1. plural of corp

Etymology 4

Noun

corps (plural corpses)

1. Obsolete spelling of corpse.
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes Lately Found in Norfolk […], London: […] Hen. Brome […], page 16:

     How to keep the corps ſeven dayes from corruption by anointing and waſhing, without exenteration, were an hazardable peece of art, in our choiſeſt practiſe.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 597–601:

     To mee, who with eternal Famin pine, / Alike is Hell, or Paradiſe, or Heaven, / There beſt, where moſt with ravin I may meet; / Which here, though plenteous, all too little ſeems / To ſtuff this Maw, this vaſt unhide-bound Corps.

   • 1788, [Vicesimus Knox], Winter Evenings: or, Lucubrations on Life and Letters, volume II, Dublin: […] Messrs. Chamberlaine, Moncrieffe, White, […], page 70:

     Did I poſſeſs the power of reſuſcitation, I would reanimate thy lifeleſs corps, and cheriſh thee in the warmeſt corner of thy favourite dwelling-place.

   • 1818, John Palmer, Journal of Travels in the United States of North America, and in Lower Canada, Performed in the Year 1817: […], London: […] Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, […], page 92:

     The women looked like dead bodies; and never did I see such a sepulchral appearance as their dress and colourless faces exhibited, they were all dressed alike in drab gowns, white neck kerchiefs, and a cap fitting close over their ears, and fastened under the chin, the same sort as are placed on a corps.

Anagrams

• S corp., crops, procs, scorp, sproc

Bourguignon

Etymology

From Latin corpus.

Noun

corps m (plural corps)

1. body

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French corps, from Middle French cors, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus. Doublet of corpus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: corps

Noun

corps n (plural corpsen or corpora, diminutive corpsje n)

1. (chiefly Netherlands) student society, especially a traditional and hierarchical one
2. Superseded spelling of korps.

Usage notes

Traditional student societies tend to prescribe the plural corpora, in regular language the plural corpsen is more common.

Synonyms

• studentencorps
• natie (historical)
• studentenclub
• studentenvereniging

Derived terms

• corpsbal
• corpslid
• studentencorps

French

Picture dictionary

corps

1= tête 2= visage 3= cou 4= épaule 5= poitrine, sein 6= nombril 7= ventre 8= aine 9= pénis 10-12= jambe 10= cuisse 11= genou 12= mollet 13= cheville 14= pied 15-18= bras 16= coude 17= avant-bras 18= poignet 19= main

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French cors, from Old French cors, inherited from Latin corpus (“body”). The p was added back to reflect the Latin etymology. Doublet of corpus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: cor, cors

Noun

corps m (plural corps)

1. body
2. (mathematics) field (in abstract algebra)
3. (military) corps

Derived terms

• à bras-le-corps
• à corps perdu
• à son corps défendant
• avoir le diable au corps
• chevillé au corps
• corporation
• corporel
• corps calleux
• corps caverneux
• corps céleste
• corps composé
• corps consulaire
• corps de ballet
• corps de garde
• corps de métier
• corps diplomatique
• corps du délit
• corps et âme
• corps et biens
• corps étranger
• corps simple
• corser
• corset
• donner corps
• esprit de corps
• faire corps
• garde du corps
• incorporer
• linge de corps
• maillot de corps
• pleurer toutes les larmes de son corps
• prendre corps
• tenir au corps
• tricot de corps
• vendre son corps

Descendants

• Karipúna Creole French: kó
• → Danish: korps
• → English: corps
• → Dutch: corps, korps
• → German: Korps
• → Norwegian Bokmål: korps
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: korps
• → Romanian: corp (in part)
• → Swedish: kår

Further reading

• “corps”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• porcs