WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Car"cass
Part of Speech : n.;
Etymology : [F. carcasse, fr. It. carcassa, fr. L. caro flesh + capsa chest, box, case. Cf. Carnal, Case a sheath.]
Definition : 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.)

Defn: 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.

pl. Carcasses. [Written also carcase.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913