Body Definition

body

English

Etymology

From Middle English body, from Old English bodiġ, bodeġ (“body, trunk, chest, torso”), from Proto-Germanic *budagan, *budagaz (“body; grown”). Cognate with Old High German botah (“body, trunk”), Middle High German botech (“body, corpse”), Swabian Bottich (“body, trunk”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈbɒdi/, SAMPA: /"bQdi/
• (GenAm) IPA: /ˈbɑɾi/, SAMPA: /"bAdi/

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• Rhymes: -ɒdi
• Hyphenation: bod‧y

Noun

body (countable and uncountable; plural bodies)

1. Physical frame.
   1. The physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism. [from 9th c.]

      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. [from 13th c.]

      The body is driven by desires, but the soul is at peace.

   3. A corpse. [from 13th c.]

      Her body was found at four o'clock, just two hours after the murder.

   4. (archaic or informal except in compounds) A person. [from 13th c.]

      What's a body gotta do to get a drink around here?

      • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 463:

        Indeed, if it belonged to a poor body, it would be another thing; but so great a lady, to be sure, can never want it [...]

      • 1876, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, chapter 28:

        Sometime I've set right down and eat WITH him. But you needn't tell that. A body's got to do things when he's awful hungry he wouldn't want to do as a steady thing.

2. Main section.
   1. The torso, the main structure of a human or animal frame excluding the extremities (limbs, head, tail). [from 9th c.]

      The boxer took a blow to the body.

   2. The largest or most important part of anything, as distinct from its appendages or accessories. [from 11th c.]

      The bumpers and front tyres were ruined, but the body of the car was in remarkable shape.

   3. (archaic) The section of a dress extending from the neck to the waist, excluding the arms. [from 16th c.]

      Penny was in the scullery, pressing the body of her new dress.

   4. A bodysuit. [from 19th c.]
   5. (programming) The code of a subroutine, contrasted to its signature and parameters. [from 20th c.]

      In many programming languages, the method body is enclosed in curly braces.

3. Coherent group.
   1. A group of men or people having a common purpose or opinion; a mass. [from 16th c.]

      I was escorted from the building by a body of armed security guards.

   2. An organisation, company or other authoritative group. [from 17th c.]

      The local train operating company is the managing body for this section of track.

   3. A unified collection of details, knowledge or information. [from 17th c.]

      We have now amassed a body of evidence which points to one conclusion.

4. Material entity.
   1. Any physical object or material thing. [from 14th c.]

      All bodies are held together by internal forces.

   2. (uncountable) Substance; physical presence. [from 17th c.]

      We have given body to what was just a vague idea.

      • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1

        The voice had an extraordinary sadness. Pure from all body, pure from all passion, going out into the world, solitary, unanswered, breaking against rocks—so it sounded.

   3. (uncountable) Comparative viscosity, solidity or substance (in wine, colours etc.). [from 17th c.]

      The red wine, sadly, lacked body.

References

• Compact Oxford English Dictionary
• MSN encarta

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:body
• See also Wikisaurus:corpse

Derived terms

Look at pages starting with body.

Verb

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

1. To give body or shape to something.
2. To construct the bodywork of a car.
3. (transitive) To embody.
   • 1955, Philip Larkin, Toads

     I don't say, one bodies the other / One's spiritual truth; / But I do say it's hard to lose either, / When you have both.

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: help · number · alone · #340: body · point · letter · become

Anagrams

• Boyd

Dutch

Etymology

From English body.

Noun

body m. (plural body's, diminutive body'tje)

1. A leotard.
2. Body, substance.

Finnish

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo‧dy
• IPA: /ˈbodi/
• Homophones: bodi

Noun

body

1. A onesie (children's garment).

Declension

Italian

Noun

body m.

1. A leotard.

Scots

Noun

body (plural bodies)

1. body
2. person, human being

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