View synonyms for corpus delicti

corpus delicti

[ kawr-puhs di-lik-tahy ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Law.

, plural cor·po·ra de·lic·ti [kawr, -per-, uh, di-, lik, -tahy].

the basic element or elements of a crime, as, in murder, the death of the murdered person; the body of facts or evidence showing that a crime has been committed.
the object, as the body of a murdered person, upon which a crime has been committed and that serves as evidence proving that the crime was committed.

corpus delicti

/ dɪˈlɪktaɪ /

1825–35; < New Latin: “body of the offense”

New Latin, literally: the body of the crime

The commonest method is the complete destruction of the corpse—the corpus delicti.

I know it will be hard for them to convict you without corpus delicti, but you must confess.

If Hallard could open the penitentiary, why not the grave in which a corpus delicti had been hastily hidden?

I will place the corpus delicti in the Czar's own hands, and can assure you that the culprit will bitterly repent his offence!

"Now let us go and see the corpus delicti," said the Vicar as soon as they had drawn their chairs from the table.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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