bodily

bodily, physical, corporeal, corporal, somatic are comparable when used narrowly to mean of or relating to the human body.

Bodily suggests opposition to mental or intellectual

{

so engrossed in thought as to be unaware of his bodily needs

}

{

he has never known bodily pain

}

{

bodily illness is more easy to bear than mental— Dickens

}

Phys-ical (see also MATERIAL), though often used interchangeably with bodily, does not carry so strong a suggestion of organic structure; thus, bodily suffering implies some disturbance within the organism or, if external, some stimulus directly affecting the organism; physical suffering may also mean this, but often it is vaguer and less explicit in its implications or reference

{

bodily pains induced by physical exhaustion

}

{

a sense of physical well-being is often the result of freedom from bodily ailments

}

Corporeal refers more specifically to the substance or matter of which the body is composed; like physical it has a more inclusive sense (see MATERIAL) but when used with reference to the human body, it implies an opposition to immaterial or to spiritual as applied to substance or nature

{

our notion of man, for instance, necessarily includes its specific parts, rational soul and corporeal body— Connally

}

{

until, the breath of this corporeal frame . . . almost suspended, we are laid asleep in body, and become a living soul— Wordsworth

}

Corporal applies almost exclusively to things that have for their object an often painful effect upon the body

{

subjected to corporal punishment

}

In some contexts (as in "corporal works of mercy") it may stand in contrast to spiritual. Somatic, because of its freedom from theological and poetic connotations, is now preferred to bodily and corporeal by physiologists, psychologists, and physicians with an implied opposition to psychical

{

somatic reactions to a stimulus

}

{

a somatic disturbance

}

{

somatic behavior

}

Analogous words: *carnal, fleshly, animal, sensual

Contrasted words: *mental, psychic, intellectual: spiritual (see HOLY) body, corpse, carcass, cadaver denote the physical organism of a man or animal (especially one of the larger animals).

Body refers to the animal organism, living or dead; but its commonest use is in reference to man, then often implying an opposition to mind or soul

{

absent in body, but present in spirit—/ Cor 5:3

}

{

women take great care of their bodies

}

{

they removed the body to a morgue

}

Corpse and carcass (of man and animal respectively) refer to the dead body

{

make a ring about the corpse of Caesar— Shak.

}

{

there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion— Judg 14:8

}

Carcass is also used as a term of contempt for the human body, dead or alive

{

on the bleak shore now lies th' abandoned king, a headless carcass, and a nameless thing— Dryderi

}

Cadaver (compare cadaverous at HAGGARD) applies to a corpse used for the purpose of dissection in a laboratory. The term is sometimes applied to living men and then suggests extreme emaciation or the appearance of a skeleton.

Contrasted words: *soul, spirit: *mind, intellect, psyche, intelligence