corporation

The story

1. Latin · derived fromcorporatus
2. Late Latin · derived fromcorporatio“assumption of a body”
3. Middle English · inherited fromcorporacion
4. English todaycorporation

From Middle English corporacion, corporation, from Late Latin corporatio (“assumption of a body”), from Latin corporatus, past participle of corporare (“to form into a body”); see corporate. By surface analysis, corporate + -ion. (protruding belly): Perhaps a play on the word corpulence.

Words from the same roots