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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Carcass \Car"cass\ (k[aum]r"kas), noun; pl. {Carcasses}. [Written also {carcase}.] [F. carcasse, fr. It. carcassa, fr. L. caro flesh + capsa chest, box, case. Cf. {Carnal}, {Case} a sheath.]
1. A dead body, whether of man or beast; a corpse; now commonly the dead body of a beast.
He turned to see the carcass of the lion. --Judges xiv. 8.
This kept thousands in the town whose carcasses went into the great pits by cartloads. --De Foe.
2. The living body; -- now commonly used in contempt or ridicule. ''To pamper his own carcass.'' --South.
Lovely her face; was ne'er so fair a creature. For earthly carcass had a heavenly feature. --Oldham.
3. The abandoned and decaying remains of some bulky and once comely thing, as a ship; the skeleton, or the uncovered or unfinished frame, of a thing.
A rotten carcass of a boat. --Shak.
4. (Mil.) A hollow case or shell, filled with combustibles, to be thrown from a mortar or howitzer, to set fire to buldings, ships, etc.
A discharge of carcasses and bombshells. --W. Iving. ||
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