carcasses

1 definition found

carcasses - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Carcass \Car"cass\ (k[aum]r"kas), n.; pl. Carcasses. [Written
     also carcase.] [F. carcasse, fr. It. carcassa, fr. L. caro
     flesh + capsa chest, box, case. Cf. Carnal, Case a
     sheath.]
     1. A dead body, whether of man or beast; a corpse; now
        commonly the dead body of a beast.
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              He turned to see the carcass of the lion. --Judges
                                                    xiv. 8.
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              This kept thousands in the town whose carcasses went
              into the great pits by cartloads.     --De Foe.
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     2. The living body; -- now commonly used in contempt or
        ridicule. "To pamper his own carcass." --South.
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              Lovely her face; was ne'er so fair a creature.
              For earthly carcass had a heavenly feature.
                                                    --Oldham.
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     3. The abandoned and decaying remains of some bulky and once
        comely thing, as a ship; the skeleton, or the uncovered or
        unfinished frame, of a thing.
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              A rotten carcass of a boat.           --Shak.
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     4. (Mil.) A hollow case or shell, filled with combustibles,
        to be thrown from a mortar or howitzer, to set fire to
        buldings, ships, etc.
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              A discharge of carcasses and bombshells. --W. Iving.
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