corps meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

corps

noun

Etymology From French corps d'armée (literally “army body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Doublet of corpse and corpus. See also English riff.

Government, Military, Politics, War A battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions.

An organized group of people united by a common purpose.

Derived terms: avant-corps, corper, corps-a-corps, corps de logis, corpsman, corpsperson, corpswoman, diplomatic corps, free corps, juste-au-corps, marine corps, press corps, staff corps

noun

A corps de ballet.

The performers were all creditable dancers as well as comedians […] even the largest of them cavorted about en pointe with wonderful ease, and the corps work was extremely precise in its inaccuracies.1981 December 12, David Foushee, “Pushing the Edges”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 21, page 6: