Definition: Body

Etymology

From Middle English bodi, bodiȝ, from Old English bodiġ (body, trunk, chest, torso, height, stature), from Proto-West Germanic *bodag (body, trunk), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (to be awake, observe). Cognate with Old High German botah (whence Swabian Bottich (body, torso)).

Noun

body (countable and uncountable, plural bodies)

Physical frame.
1. The physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism.
  I saw them walking from a distance, their bodies strangely angular in the dawn light.
2. The fleshly or corporeal nature of a human, as opposed to the spirit or soul.
  The body is driven by desires, but the soul is at peace.
3. A corpse.
  Her body was found at four o'clock, just two hours after the murder.
4. (sociology) A human being, regarded as marginalized or oppressed.
Main section.
1. The torso, the main structure of a human or animal frame excluding the extremities (limbs, head, tail).
  The boxer took a blow to the body.
2. The largest or most important part of anything, as distinct from its appendages or accessories.
  The bumpers and front tires were ruined, but the body of the car was in remarkable shape.
3. The content of a letter, message, or other printed or electronic document, as distinct from signatures, salutations, headers, and so on.
  1. (programming) The code of a subroutine, contrasted to its signature and parameters.
    In many programming languages, the method body is enclosed in braces, but in Python it is indented.
  2. (architecture, of a church) nave.
Coherent group.
1. A group of people having a common purpose or opinion; a mass.
  I was escorted from the building by a body of armed security guards.
2. An organization, company, or other authoritative group.
  The local train operating company is the managing body for this section of track.
3. A unified collection of details, knowledge, or information.
  We have now amassed a body of evidence which points to one conclusion.
Material entity.
1. Any physical object or material thing.
  All bodies are held together by internal forces.
2. (uncountable) Substance; physical presence.
  We have given body to what was just a vague idea.
3. (uncountable) Comparative viscosity, solidity, or substance (in wine, colors etc.).
  1. An agglomeration of some substance, especially one that would be otherwise uncountable.
The English Channel is a body of water lying between Great Britain and France.
(printing) The shank of a type, or the depth of the shank (by which the size is indicated).
A nonpareil face on an agate body.
(geometry) A three-dimensional object, such as a cube or cone.

Derived terms

administrative body
advisory body
antibody
anybody
asteroid body
astral body
auto body
bodice
bodily
body armour
bodyboard
bodybuilder
bodybuilding
body cam
body camera
bodycare
body double
body English
body fat
body fossil
bodyguard
body heat
body image
body language
body lotion
body mass index
body of water
body of work
body part
body-positive
body positivity
body scan
body shaming
body shape
body shop
bodyswap
body temperature
body wash
body weight
bodywork
busybody
car body
celestial body
everybody
foreign body
heavenly body
homebody
legislative body
lower body
nobody
nuclear body
Peabody
somebody
student body
upper body
water body

Verb

body (third-person singular simple present bodies, present participle bodying, simple past and past participle bodied)

(often with forth) To give body or shape to something.
To construct the bodywork of a car.
To embody; to represent in a physical or concrete form.

Credits

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body ^history