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Corpse - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Corpse : \Corpse\ (k[^o]rps), n. [OF. cors (sometimes written
corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See
Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
1. A human body in general, whether living or dead; --
sometimes contemptuously. [Obs.]
Note: Formerly written (after the French form) corps. See
Corps, n., 1.
2. The dead body of a human being; -- used also Fig.
He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it
sprung upon its feet. --D. Webster.
Corpse candle.
(a) A thick candle formerly used at a lich wake, or the
customary watching with a corpse on the night before
its interment.
(b) A luminous appearance, resembling the flame of a
candle, sometimes seen in churchyards and other damp
places, superstitiously regarded as portending death.
Corpse gate, the gate of a burial place through which the
dead are carried, often having a covered porch; -- called
also lich gate.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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CORPSE. The dead body (q.v.) of a human being. Russ. & Ry. 366, n.; 2 T. R.
733; 1 Leach, 497; 16 Eng. Com. L. Rep. 413; 8 Pick. 370; Dig. 47, 12, 3, 7
Id. 11, 7, 38; Code, 3, 441.
2. As aCorpse : is considered as nullius bonis, or the property of no
one, it follows that stealing it, is not, at common law, a larceny. 3 Inst.
203.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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