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corpus vile

British  
/ ˈkɔːpəs ˈvaɪlɪ /

noun

  1. a person or thing fit only to be the object of an experiment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of corpus vile

literally: worthless body

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Even the student body was regarded not as boys and girls to be taught, but as a corpus vile, a collection of human guinea pigs tolerated for experimental purposes.

From Time Magazine Archive

No good book ought ever to be considered a mere corpus vile for rhetorical praxis.

From College Teaching Studies in Methods of Teaching in the College by Klapper, Paul

It was “supplied” always by a succession of first-year’s students, who made their experiments on the corpus vile here. 

From The Revolution in Tanner's Lane by Rutherford, Mark

She was certain that Chandrap�l would not treat Snarley as a mere abnormal specimen of human nature, a corpus vile for scientific investigation.

From Mad Shepherds and Other Human Studies by Jacks, L. P.

I myself, to take a corpus vile, am very certain that I would not read the works of Comte through for any consideration whatever.

From Heretics by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)