different between corpse vs undead

English

Alternative forms

• corse (obsolete)

Etymology

From earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native Old English l?? (whence modern English word lich). The ?p? was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus. The verb sense derives from the notion of being unable to control laughter while playing a dead body.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k??ps/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k??ps/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?ko?ps/
• Rhymes: -??(?)ps

Noun

corpse (plural corpses)

1. A dead body.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:corpse

   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:corpse.
2. (archaic, sometimes derogatory) A human body in general, whether living or dead.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:body

Related terms

Translations

Verb

corpse (third-person singular simple present corpses, present participle corpsing, simple past and past participle corpsed)

1. (intransitive, slang, of an actor) To laugh uncontrollably during a performance.
2. (transitive, slang, of an actor) To cause another actor to do this.

Anagrams

• Cosper, Crespo, Pecors, copers, corpes, scoper

English

Etymology

From Middle English undede, equivalent to un- +? dead. The first attestation is from around 1400. Usage as a noun is attested from the early 20th century onwards.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?d/
• Rhymes: -?d

Adjective

undead (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to a corpse, though having qualities of life.
2. (horror fiction) Being animate, though non-living.

Translations

Noun

the undead pl (plural only)

1. (horror fiction) Those creatures which are undead; that is, dead yet still animate.

   In the zombie movie, an army of the undead accosted some nubile skinny-dipping teenagers.

Translations

Noun

undead (plural undeads)

1. (horror fiction) A creature that is undead; that is, dead but still animate.
   • 1983, Tanith Lee, The Wars of Vis

     "You will do me a service," the undead said to him.

   • 1997, Carol Margaret Davison, Paul Simpson-Housley, Bram Stoker's Dracula: sucking through the century, 1897-1997

     Innocent VIII lent credibility to the actual existence of undeads, an action that perpetuated, and even stimulated, vampire hysteria.

See also

• Frankenstein's monster
• living dead
• mummy
• revenant
• vampire
• zombie