0
Taka Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Body

From the realm of beautifully formed peoples we got our religion, art, science, the entire body of our culture.

What would an alternative word for the "body" here be?
  

Top answer

Taka What would an alternative word for the "body" here be? 3 body of: [COUNTABLE] a large amount or collection of something such as knowledge, information, or work There is a growing body of evidence to support this theory. These films represent a major body of work.

— Mister Micawber

  • Taka What would an alternative word for the "body" here be?
  • 3 body of: [COUNTABLE] a large amount or collection of something such as knowledge, information, or work There is a growing body of evidence to support this theory.
  • These films represent a major body of work.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

9 Answers
0
TakaWhat would an alternative word for the "body" here be?
3 body of: [COUNTABLE] a large amount or collection of something such as knowledge, information, or work
There is a growing body of evidence to support this theory. These films represent a major body of work.
0
0
My dictionaries (English-Japanese) say "the body of~" and "a body of~" are different in meaning. Would you disagree?

Plus, if you were supposed to replace the "body" of the sentence in question with another word, without changing the meaning, what would it be?
0
0
The following are possible, depending on the context in which this appears, or what is being emphasized:

heart

essence

structure

life

identity

spirit

matrix

core
0
0
TakaMy dictionaries (English-Japanese) say "the body of~" and "a body of~" are different in meaning. Would you disagree?
What difference does your dictionary cite?
0
0
They all have an entry for "a body of...", under which it is defined as "a large amount of ...", as you've pointed out. But they don't have a particular entry for "the body of..." and none of them defines it in the same way as "a body of..." is defined.
0
0
Takanone of them defines it in the same way as "a body of..." is defined.
Then, how is it defined? Why has this troubled you? I ask because I see no more difference than there is between 'an apple' and 'the apple'.
0
0
Mister MicawberWhy has this troubled you?
When it comes to translation, it matters a lot.

(You wouldn't see "a lot of..." as exactly the same as "the lot of...", would you?)

"The entire large amount of our culture" wouldn't make sense and it's impossible to translate it, so I'm looking for a better alternative word for the "body."
0
0
TakaYou wouldn't see "a lot of..." as exactly the same as "the lot of...", would you?
No. but that is idiomatic. 'Body of' is not. You may use articles for 'body' just as you would for another noun.
Taka"The entire large amount of our culture" wouldn't make sense and it's impossible to translate it, so I'm looking for a better alterna
0
0
I see. Thanks, MM (I thought "a body of..." was idiomatic like "a lot of...).
0

Related Questions