'corpus' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'corpus', where 'corpus' meant 'body'.

'corpus' passed into English from Latin (via Medieval Latin); the Latin plural formation produced 'corpora', which English adopted as the plural of 'corpus' in learned and technical usage.

Initially, it meant 'body' in a primarily physical sense, but over time it developed an additional sense of 'a body or collection of writings or data', which is the basis for the modern specialized meaning used in linguistics and data analysis.