corpus delicti
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The material thing in respect to which a crime has been committed; thus a murdered body or a portion of the stolen property would be a "corpus delicti.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “corpus delicti” mean?
The material thing in respect to which a crime has been committed; thus a murdered body or a portion of the stolen property would be a "corpus delicti.
Is “corpus delicti” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.