Cadaver

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈdæv.ə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A dead body, typically of a human, utilized for the purposes of anatomical study or medical training
2. A lifeless human form, often employed in the fields of medicine and biology for the examination of physical structures
3. A deceased human body that is often used for educational purposes in medical research and anatomy education

Etymology: Latin "cadāver" comes from "cadere," "to fall," so the word's original sense is simply "that which has fallen." The notion is of a body dropped or collapsed, the thing left behind when a living person has fallen down and does not get up. The Latin form was used of corpses, and English took it up in the Middle Ages, when it passed into Middle English in its Latin shape rather than being reshaped by everyday speech. The word stayed largely confined to learned and scientific contexts, which is why it still sounds more clinical than "corpse" or "body." Its root also links it to the English word "cadence" through "cadere," a sense of falling, though the two came into English by different routes.

Synonyms: corpse, body

Antonyms: living being