corpus delicti

noun

cor·​pus de·​lic·​ti ˈkȯr-pəs-di-ˈlik-ˌtī 

-(ˌ)tē

plural corpora delicti

1

: the substantial and fundamental fact necessary to prove the commission of a crime

2

: the material substance (such as the body of the victim of a murder) upon which a crime has been committed

Did you know?

Corpus delicti literally means "body of the crime" in Latin. In its original sense, the body in question refers not to a corpse but to the body of essential facts that, taken together, prove that a crime has been committed. In popular usage, corpus delicti also refers to the actual physical object upon which a crime has been committed. In a case of arson, it would be a ruined building; in a murder case, the victim's corpse.

Examples of corpus delicti in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As defense attorney Leroy Tozier noted, the prosecution had only produced a corpus — Jaconi’s actual corpse — and not the corpus delicti — the concrete evidence of guilt. —David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin corpus dēlictī "body of the misdeed"

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

corpus delicti

noun

corpus de·​lic·​ti -di-ˈlik-ˌtī, -(ˌ)tē 

plural corpora delicti

1

: the substantial and fundamental fact (as, in murder, actual death and its occurrence as a result of criminal agency) necessary to prove the commission of a crime

2

: the material substance (as the body of the victim of a murder) upon which a crime has been committed

Legal Definition

corpus delicti

noun

corpus de·​lic·​ti -di-ˈlik-ˌtī, -dā-, -tē 

: the substance of a crime that the prosecutor must prove and that consists of an injury or loss (as death of a victim or disappearance of property) and the criminal act that resulted in it

Etymology

New Latin, literally, the body of the offense