corpse
From the Latin word meaning simply "body". Once it was not considered unfortunate to be considered a "walking corpse" because it could apply to someone who was still alive and in good health. By the middle of the 18th century, all life had fled the word. Note the relationship of the word to terms such as corps (a body of men organized for the slaughter), corpulent (referring to those possessing a large mound of otherwise dead material in the midriff region), corporal (the officer in a military unit most likely to be killed in action), and corporation (a collection of bodies housed in structures not unlike and about as lively as a mausoleum). |