Note: Formerly written (after the French form) corps. See
{Corps}, n., 1.
2. The dead body of a human being; -- used also Fig.
He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it
sprung upon its feet. --D. Webster.
{Corpse candle}.
(a) A thick candle formerly used at a lich wake, or the
customary watching with a corpse on the night before
its interment.
(b) A luminous appearance, resembling the flame of a
candle, sometimes seen in churchyards and other damp
places, superstitiously regarded as portending death.
{Corpse gate}, the gate of a burial place through which the
dead are carried, often having a covered porch; -- called
also {lich gate}.