corps

[kawr]

noun

plural

corps 

1. Military.

   1. a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.

      the U.S. Marine Corps;

      corps of cadets.

   2. Also called army corps. a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.

2. a group of persons associated or acting together.

   the diplomatic corps;

   the press corps.

   Synonyms: band, crew, force, team

3. Printing.,  a Continental designation that, preceded by a number, indicates size of type in Didot points of 0.0148 inch (3.8 millimeters).

   14 corps.

4. Obsolete.,  corpse.

corps

/ kɔː /

noun

1. a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms

2. a military body with a specific function

   intelligence corps

   medical corps

3. a body of people associated together

   the diplomatic corps

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; corpse

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

C18: from French, from Latin corpus body

Example Sentences

In one note, he envisaged the aftermath of a public hanging, with "surgeons fighting over corpses".

From BBC

And death follows in books about talking corpses, cemetery folklore and the darkest days of World War II. Here’s a sampling of this fall’s bounty.

From Los Angeles Times

This was Ms Fasold's first introduction to the world of so-called body brokers: private companies that acquire corpses, dissect them, and then sell the limbs for a profit, often to medical research centres.

From BBC

The Russian delegation left immediately after the press availability, providing no comments to the press corps on how the meetings went behind closed doors.

From Los Angeles Times

And George Durrant, who served in the intelligence corps, appeared on stage with his great-granddaughter as he urged people not to forget the sacrifices made by his comrades.

From BBC

Related Words

• band 
• body 
• contingent 
• crew 
• detachment 
• division 
• squad 
• squadron 
• troop 
• troupe 
• unit