Corporation
/ˌkɔːr.pəˈreɪ.ʃən/noun
A legal entity recognized as a single body, separate from the people who own or run it.
Did you know?Its deepest Latin root, *corpus*, meant “body,” so a corporation was originally imagined as a single organized body rather than a pile of shareholders.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kwrep-
“to form, body, shape”
Latin
Latin
corpus
“body”
Late Latin
Latin
corporatio
“a forming into one body; a corporate body”
Old French
Old French
corporation
“a body of people united into one society”
14th Century
English
corporacioun
“a body formed into a legal entity”
Modern English
English
corporation
“a legally recognized company or municipal body”
Explore more surprising origins