corps

[kawr]

noun

plural

corps 

1. Military.

   1. a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.

      the U.S. Marine Corps;

      corps of cadets.

   2. Also called army corps. a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.

2. a group of persons associated or acting together.

   the diplomatic corps;

   the press corps.

   Synonyms: band, crew, force, team

3. Printing.,  a Continental designation that, preceded by a number, indicates size of type in Didot points of 0.0148 inch (3.8 millimeters).

   14 corps.

4. Obsolete.,  corpse.

corps

/ kɔː /

noun

1. a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms

2. a military body with a specific function

   intelligence corps

   medical corps

3. a body of people associated together

   the diplomatic corps

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; corpse

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

C18: from French, from Latin corpus body

Related Words

• band 
• body 
• contingent 
• crew 
• detachment 
• division 
• squad 
• squadron 
• troop 
• troupe 
• unit