'Nobody' vs. 'No body' [closed]
Solution 1:
They do not have the same meaning in modern English.
There is nobody in this picture:
where "nobody" is a pronoun meaning "no person" (definition 1 at dictionary.reference.com).
Whereas there is no body in this picture:
where "no body" means "not a body".
In this picture there are a couple of nobodies:
where "nobody" means "a person of no importance" (definition 2 at dictionary.reference.com).
Solution 2:
Nobody (n.) an a single term meaning "no one" dates back to the 17th century. No body are two distinct terms with just their literal meaning:
- mid-14c., no body "no person noone," from Middle English no (adj.) "not any" + bodi (see body (n.)). Written as two words 14c.-18c.; hyphenated 17c.-18c. Meaning "person of no importance" is from 1580s.
(Etymonline)
Ngram: nobody, no-body, no body.
Solution 3:
Nobody - No person; no one. Not anybody of importance, authority, or social position. A person of no importance, authority, or social position (OED).
No body - the absence of a body (i.e. exactly what it says!).
A verse in Randy Newman's excellent song, Short People (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX6I2NrguAs), plays with the two meanings of nobody/no body:
"Short People got nobody ...to love."
If you are short you will not attract anyone to love you ('short people got nobody to love');
If you are short you have less of a body (literally, the size of your body) to love (someone with) ('short people got no body to love')