any cell or similar minute body that is suspended in a fluid, esp any of the red blood corpuscles (erythrocytes) or white blood corpuscles (see leucocytes)
See also erythrocyte, leucocyte
2. anatomy
the encapsulated ending of a sensory nerve
3. physics
a discrete particle such as an electron, photon, ion, or atom
4. Also called: corpuscule (kɔːˈpʌskjuːl)
any minute particle
Derived forms
corpuscular (kɔːˈpʌskjʊlə)
adjective
Word origin
C17: from Latin corpusculum a little body, from corpus body