esprit de corps

English

WOTD – 3 March 2009

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French esprit de corps, from esprit (“spirit”) + de (“of”) + corps (“body”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɛˌspɹiː də ˈkɔː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɛˌspɹi də ˈkɔɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

esprit de corps (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.
   • 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter V, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 94:

     “Well done, sister! I honour your esprit du corps^[sic]. When I am a wife, I mean to be just as staunch myself; and I wish my friends in general would be so too. It would save me many a heartache.”

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 5: Lotus Eaters]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 71:

     Always happening like that. The very moment. Girl in Eustace street hallway Monday was it settling her garter. Her friend covering the display of. Esprit de corps. Well, what are you gaping at?

   • 1946 May and June, J. Alan Rannie, “The Midland of 35 Years Ago”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:

     Also, much depended on an exceptional esprit de corps which permeated the whole staff, and achieved miracles of promptitude in such details as engine-changing and the marshalling of trains.

Synonyms

• (shared spirit): morale, team spirit

Translations

shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion — see also team spirit

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 團結精神／团结精神 (tuánjié jīngshén), 集體精神／集体精神 (jítǐ jīngshén)

• Czech: pocit sounáležitosti m
• Danish: korpsånd c
• Finnish: yhteishenki
• French: esprit de corps (fr) m
• Indonesian: jiwa korsa, esprit de corps
• Malay: esprit de corps
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kampånd m

• Polish: poczucie solidarności n
• Portuguese: espírito de equipe m
• Russian: кома́ндный дух m (komándnyj dux)
• Swedish: kåranda c

References

• “esprit”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛs.pʁi d(ə) kɔʁ/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

esprit de corps m (uncountable)

1. esprit de corps, spirit of the group, common spirit

See also

• esprit de clocher
• esprit d’équipe
• esprit de parti

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French esprit de corps (literally “spirit of the group”).

Noun

esprit de corps

1. esprit de corps, moral, team spirit

Further reading

• “esprit de corps” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Swedish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French esprit de corps.

Noun

esprit de corps c

1. (obsolete) esprit de corps

   Synonym: kåranda

   • 1819 February 18, Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, “Anteckningar om Wien. Resa från Wien till Breslau.”, in Bengt Lewan, editor, Minnen från Tyskland och Italien, volume II, published 2002, page 600:

     Sedan vi åkt förbi tvenne i det mulna vädret rätt sorgligt utseende kyrkogårdar, av vilka den första tillhör militären, – som även efter döden vill bibehålla sin rang och sin esprit de corps […]

     After we gone past two rather sad-looking cemeteries in the cloudy weather, the first of which belongs to the military, - who even after death want to maintain their rank and their esprit de corps […]

   • 1864, Hans Henric Hallbäck, Tolken öfver sista studentexamen, page 12:

     Bättre tyckes då den unga fanjunkaren bekläda sin plats, ty han ses egna den med odelade uppmärksamhet åt sin svajande fana och i hans sturska, tvärsäkra hållning röjer sig synbarligen något militärisk esprit de corps.

     It seems better then that the young sergant takes his place, for he is seen owning it with undivided attention to his waving banner, and in his stout, dead certain stance, something of a military esprit de corps is evidently revealed.

   • 1999, “Clarence Crafoord - en av seklets stora kirurgiska pionjärer”, in Läkartidningen, volume 96, number 21, quoted in Språkbanken, Korp:

     Där måste ha funnits en esprit de corps utan motstycke.

     There must have been an esprit de corps unmatched.

   • 2011 August 4, “Tommy Möller: Därför blir krishantering avgörande för politiska ledare”, in Dagens Nyheter:

     Enligt socialpsykologisk teoribildning utvecklas en särskild typ av kåranda, en esprit de corps, i små grupper av detta slag, där sammanhållningen mellan gruppens medlemmar är stark.

     According to social psychological theory formation, a special type of team spirit, an esprit de corps, develops in small groups of this kind, where the cohesion between the members of the group is strong.