Rivers that run up into the body of Italy. Addison.
3. The real, as opposed to the symbolical; the substance, as opposed to the shadow.
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Col. ii. 17.
4. A person; a human being; -- frequently in composition; as, anybody, nobody.
A dry, shrewd kind of a body. W. Irving.
5. A number of individuals spoken of collectively, usually as united by some common tie, or as organized for some purpose; a collective whole or totality; a corporation; as, a legislative body; a clerical body.
A numerous body led unresistingly to the slaughter. Prescott.
6. A number of things or particulars embodied in a system; a general collection; as, a great body of facts; a body of laws or of divinity.
7. Any mass or portion of matter; any substance distinct from others; as, a metallic body; a moving body; an aëriform body. "A body of cold air." Huxley.
By collision of two bodies, grind The air attrite to fire. Milton.
8. Amount; quantity; extent.
9. That part of a garment covering the body, as distinguished from the parts covering the limbs.
10. The bed or box of a vehicle, on or in which the load is placed; as, a wagon body; a cart body.
11. (Print.) The shank of a type, or the depth of the shank (by which the size is indicated); as, a nonpareil face on an agate body.
12. (Geom.) A figure that has length, breadth, and thickness; any solid figure.
13. Consistency; thickness; substance; strength; as, this color has body; wine of a good body.
Colors bear a body when they are capable of being ground so fine, and of being mixed so entirely with oil, as to seem only a very thick oil of the same color.
After body (Naut.), the part of a ship abaft the dead flat. -- Body cavity (Anat.), the space between the walls of the body and the inclosed viscera; the cælum; -- in mammals, divided by the diaphragm into thoracic and abdominal cavities. -- Body of a church, the nave. -- Body cloth; pl. Body cloths, a cloth or blanket for covering horses. -- Body clothes. (pl.) 1. Clothing for the body; esp. underclothing. 2. Body cloths for horses. [Obs.] Addison. -- Body coat, a gentleman's dress coat. -- Body color (Paint.), a pigment that has consistency, thickness, or body, in distinction from a tint or wash. -- Body of a law (Law), the main and operative part. -- Body louse (Zoöl.), a species of louse (Pediculus vestimenti), which sometimes infests the human body and clothes. See Grayback. -- Body plan (Shipbuilding), an end elevation, showing the conbour of the sides of a ship at certain points of her length. -- Body politic, the collective body of a nation or state as politically organized, or as exercising political functions; also, a corporation. Wharton.
As to the persons who compose the body politic or associate themselves, they take collectively the name of "people", or "nation". Bouvier.
-- Body servant, a valet. -- The bodies seven (Alchemy), the metals corresponding to the planets. [Obs.]
Sol gold is, and Luna silver we threpe (=call), Mars yren (=iron), Mercurie quicksilver we clepe, Saturnus lead, and Jupiter is tin, and Venus coper. Chaucer.
-- Body snatcher, one who secretly removes without right or authority a dead body from a grave, vault, etc.; a resurrectionist. -- Body snatching (Law), the unauthorized removal of a dead body from the grave; usually for the purpose of dissection.
Bod"y (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bodied (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bodying.] To furnish with, or as with, a body; to produce in definite shape; to embody.
To body forth, to give from or shape to mentally.
Imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown. Shak.
Bod"y*guard` (&?;), n. 1. A guard to protect or defend the person; a lifeguard.
2. Retinue; attendance; following. Bp. Porteus.
Bœ*o"tian (&?;), a. [L. Boeotia, Gr. &?;, noted for its moist, thick atmosphere, and the dullness and stupidity of its inhabitants.] Of or pertaining to Bœotia; hence, stupid; dull; obtuse. -- n. A native of Bœotia; also, one who is dull and ignorant.
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section a and B · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.