Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The entire material or physical structure of an organism, especially of a human or animal.
  • noun The physical aspect of a person as opposed to the spirit; the flesh.
  • noun A corpse or carcass.
  • noun The trunk or torso of a human or animal.
  • noun The part of a garment covering the torso.
  • noun A human; a person.
  • noun A group of individuals regarded as an entity; a corporation.
  • noun A number of persons, concepts, or things regarded as a group.
  • noun The main or central part, as.
  • noun Anatomy The largest or principal part of an organ; corpus.
  • noun The nave of a church.
  • noun The content of a book or document exclusive of prefatory matter, codicils, indexes, or appendices.
  • noun The passenger- and cargo-carrying part of an aircraft, ship, or other vehicle.
  • noun Music The sound box of an instrument.
  • noun A mass of matter that is distinct from other masses.
  • noun A collection or quantity, as of material or information.
  • noun Consistency of substance, as in paint, textiles, or wine.
  • noun Printing The part of a block of type underlying the impression surface.
  • transitive verb To furnish with a body.
  • transitive verb To give shape to. Usually used with forth:
  • transitive verb To play defense with one's body up against (that of another player) so as to restrict the player's mobility, as in basketball.
  • transitive verb To collide with and force (another player) in a certain direction.
  • idiom (take the body) To play in a rough physical way, dealing out many body checks, as in hockey.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The physical structure of an animal; the material organized substance of an animal, whether living or dead, in distinction from the soul, spirit, or vital principle.
  • noun The main portion of an animal, tree, etc.; the trunk, as distinct from the head and limbs or branches; in ichthyology, often used for the whole fish exclusive of the fins.
  • noun The part of a dress which covers the body, as distinct from the parts which cover the arms or extremities; in female dress, a bodice; a waist.
  • noun The main, central, or principal part of anything, as of an army, country, building, etc., as distinguished from subordinate or less important parts.
  • noun Specifically— In a blast-furnace, the core or main portion between the top, or opening at the throat, and the boshes.
  • noun In music: The whole of the hollow part of a string-instrument, designed to increase its resonance.
  • noun All that part of a wind-instrument that remains after removing its appendages, mouthpiece, crooks, and bell.
  • noun The higher resonant part of an organ-pipe, above the reed or the mouth, which causes the air to vibrate.
  • noun The shank of a type, as determining its size: as, minion on nonpareil body.
  • noun The main part of a tool; the main part of a blade, as of a sword, as distinguished from the heel and point, etc.
  • noun That part of a wagon, railroad-car, etc., which contains the load.
  • noun The main portion; the bulk of anything; the larger part; the majority: as, the body of the people are opposed to the measure.
  • noun The person; an individual as recognized by law: as, body execution; held in body and goods.
  • noun A person; a human being: now generally combined with any, every, some, or no: as, somebody, nobody.
  • noun A number of individuals spoken of collectively, usually associated for a common purpose, joined in a certain cause, or united by some common tie or occupation; an incorporated or other aggregate: as, a legislative body; the body of the clergy; a body corporate.
  • noun A material thing; anything having inertia. See matter.
  • noun In geometry, any solid having the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness.
  • noun A united mass; a number of things or particulars taken together; a general collection; a code; a system: as, a body of laws.
  • noun A certain consistency or density; substance; strength, as opposed to thinness, weakness, transparency, or flimsiness: as, wine, paper, etc., of good body. As applied to paints, body denotes opacity or density, as opposed to transparency.
  • noun In music, the resonance of a tone, whether instrumental or vocal.
  • noun The space inclosed within the interior works of a fortification.
  • To provide with a body; embody.
  • To form into a body or company.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English bodi, from Old English bodig.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English body, bodiȝ, from Old English bodiġ, bodeġ ("body, trunk, chest, torso, height, stature"), from Proto-Germanic *budagan, *budagaz (“body, trunk", also "grown”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to be awake, observe”). Cognate with German Bottech ("body, trunk, corpse"), Bavarian and Swabian Bottich ("body, trunk").

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Examples

  • I'm yet to discover a way to convert a top to a body outfit/part, which would address the above problem partially, despite a few token efforts at file renaming (the .bmps exported are preceded with top~ or body~) and hex editing (the .package file refers to the file names it expects to find for the .bmps).

    Galactic North patternjuggler 2004

  • I'm yet to discover a way to convert a top to a body outfit/part, which would address the above problem partially, despite a few token efforts at file renaming (the .bmps exported are preceded with top~ or body~) and hex editing (the .package file refers to the file names it expects to find for the .bmps).

    Archive 2004-09-28 patternjuggler 2004

  • Nonverbal communication includes gestures, facial expressions, and body positions (known collectively as “body language”), as well as unspoken understandings and presuppositions, and cultural and environmental conditions that may affect any encounter between people.

    nonverbal communication 2002

  • Through transubstantiation, the bread and wine consumed by worshipers become the body and blood of Jesus when a priest, acting on Jesus’ behalf, speaks the words “This is my body” and “This is my blood” over them.

    transubstantiation 2002

  • What an absurdity were it, if in the body natural _all were an eye_, or _hand_! for _where_ then _were the hearing, smelling_, &c.; _or if all were one member, where were the body_?

    The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London

  • Thus ash has two main uses in the body: (_a_) _it aids in building the body_; and (_b_) _it aids in regulating body processes_.

    School and Home Cooking Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer

  • The real and practical alliance between the physical and the psychic -- between body and mind -- is better realized; as for instance: You may be seized with _an idea_, or a passion, and it disturbs your _health of body_; you may take indigestible food, or suffer injury or fatigue, and it disturbs your _health of mind_.

    Valere Aude Dare to Be Healthy, Or, The Light of Physical Regeneration Louis Dechmann

  • The visible bodily sheath has had its atoms scattered to the four elements; the etheric body [263] has become separated from the physical molecules whose vital support it formed; the body of passions and desires (_astral body_) has lived for a few years in what

    Reincarnation A Study in Human Evolution Th. Pascal

  • These texts suggest more than a mere attachment to the body: they imply _functional activity in the body_.

    The Last Reformation 1913

  • The second cause of absurd assertions I ascribe to the giving of names of ‘bodies’ to ‘accidents, ’ or of ‘accidents’ to ‘bodies, ’ as they do that say ‘faith is infused’ or ‘inspired, ’ when nothing can be ‘poured’ or ‘breathed’ into anything but body; and that ‘extension’ is ‘body, ’ that ‘phantasms’ are ‘spirits, ’ etc.

    Chapter V. Of Reason and Science 1909

  • Known as “body shops”, these labor brokers hire and pay workers to perform work for third party companies, profiting by taking a cut of the wages paid by the company.

    Inside New York’s ‘body shops’ that exploit ex-prisoners to drive down wages Michael Sainato 2021

  • Sources formerly close to the church say Sebastian is likely what is known in the community as a “body router,” typically a young, attractive staffer who is assigned to stand outside the Church of Scientology Information Center, hand out literature, and invite passersby into the building to learn more about the church.

    How TikTok Accidentally Created a Scientology Heartthrob Ej Dickson 2024

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