corpse
n. countablen. the dead body of a person. You usually hear this word in news reports, crime stories, or medical contexts.
n. the dead body of a human being, especially one that is intended for medical study or involved in a legal investigation.
The police found a corpse in the abandoned building.
Medical students spend their first year studying a human corpse to learn about anatomy.
The forensic pathologist examined the corpse for any signs of trauma that might indicate the cause of death before the official report was filed.
From Middle English, from earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native English likam and lich. The ⟨p⟩ was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus, and distantly of riff (via Proto-Indo-European). The verb sense derives from the notion of being unable to control laughter while acting as dead body.
Commonly used in formal, medical, or legal contexts; 'body' is the more frequent choice in general conversation.