Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Lacking material form or substance.
- adjective Law Of or relating to property or an asset that cannot be physically possessed, as a right or patent.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Not corporeal; not consisting of matter, or not having a material body; immaterial.
- In law, existing in contemplation of law, and enjoyable as a right (as distinguished from that which has tangible form), as a franchise, or a right of way.
- noun An incorporeal thing; an immaterial being.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Not corporeal; not having a material body or form; not consisting of matter; immaterial.
- adjective (Law) Existing only in contemplation of law; not capable of actual visible seizin or possession; not being an object of sense; intangible; -- opposed to
corporeal . - adjective See under
Hereditament .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having no
material form orphysical substance . - adjective law Relating to an
asset that does not have amaterial form; such as apatent .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective without material form or substance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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In this way More sought to demonstrate that the idea of incorporeal substance, or spirit, was as intelligible as that of corporeal substance, i.e. body.
The Cambridge Platonists Hutton, Sarah 2007
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In all which there is no colour at all for the burning of incorporeal, that is to say, impatible souls.
Leviathan 2007
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Furthermore, More attempted to answer materialists like Thomas Hobbes whom he perceived as an atheist on account of his dismissal of the idea of incorporeal substance as non-sensical.
The Cambridge Platonists Hutton, Sarah 2007
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Nor does it follow from hence that spirits are nothing: for they have dimensions and are therefore really bodies; though that name in common speech be given to such bodies only as are visible or palpable; that is, that have some degree of opacity: but for spirits, they call them incorporeal, which is a name of more honour, and may therefore with more piety be attributed to God
Leviathan 2007
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Being defined as incorporeal substances, as purely spiritual beings, angels are not thus decomposable.
The Angels and Us Mortimer J. Adler 1982
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[59] _Stromata_, V, 12: "If, then, abstracting all that belongs to bodies and things called incorporeal, we cast ourselves into the greatness of Christ, and then advance into immensity by holiness, we may reach somehow to the conception of the Almighty, _knowing not what He is, but what He is not_."
The Basis of Early Christian Theism Lawrence Thomas Cole
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And then something, instinct maybe, or whatever you like to label the incorporeal look-out in our psychological crow's nest, whispered to her that it might be wise if she awoke to her surroundings.
Leonie of the Jungle Joan Conquest
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Other assets, what we used to call incorporeal hereditaments back in law school -- fair workin 'knowledge of the cattle an' horse business.
Prairie Flowers 1921
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If, then, we abstract all that belongs to bodies and things called incorporeal, we cast ourselves into the greatness of Christ, and thence advancing into immensity by holiness, we may reach somehow to the conception of the Almighty, knowing not what He is, but knowing what He is not.
A Source Book for Ancient Church History Joseph Cullen Ayer 1905
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In all which there is no colour at all for the burning of incorporeal, that is to say, impatible souls.
Leviathan, or, The matter, forme, & power of a common-wealth ecclesiasticall and civill 1651
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