Dictionary entry

Corps

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Corps (kōr, pl. kōrz), n. sing. & pl. [F., fr. L. corpus body. See Corpse.] 1. The human body, whether living or dead. See Corpse, 1.

By what craft in my corps, it cometh and where.

Piers Plowman.

2. A body of men; esp., an organized division of the military establishment; as, the marine corps; the corps of topographical engineers; specifically, an army corps.

A corps operating with an army should consist of three divisions of the line, a brigade of artillery, and a regiment of cavalry.

Gen. Upton (U. S. Tactics.)

3. A body or code of laws.

The whole corps of the law.

Bacon.

4. (Eccl.) The land with which a prebend or other ecclesiastical office is endowed.

The prebendaries over and above their reserved rents have a corps.

Bacon.

Army corps, or (French) Corps d'armée (kō̍r′ där′mā̍″), a body containing two or more divisions of a large army, organized as a complete army in itself. — ‖Corps de logis (kō̍r′ de lō̍′zhē̍″), the principal mass of a building, considered apart from its wings. — Corps diplomatique (k�r d�′pl�′m�–t�k″), the body of ministers or envoys accredited to a government.