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According to Karen Cushman the exact origin is uncertain. Cushman states, "It apparently refers to the body of Christ. Or, if it's a corruption of the Latin word for good, it might mean "good body". I did not document my source for "corpus bones."

Cushman's explanation however, might be misleading. It appears that the expression may be the result of confusing the separate expressions: corpus Domini and Goddes bones. Goddes refers to God while the expression Goddes bones can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, "By Goddes bones, whan I bete my knaves". Corpus on the other hand originally comes from the Latin meaning body although it is used presently in a rather gruesome sense.

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14y ago

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