corpuscular

Corpuscular is an adjective derived from corpuscle, a term used historically for a small body or particle. The word commonly appears in scientific and philosophical contexts to describe substance or phenomena as consisting of or relating to tiny particles. In biology, corpuscles historically referred to cells or cell-like structures, notably blood corpuscles, a term still encountered in older or anatomical language.

In physics and the history of science, corpuscular describes theories that propose matter or light is made up of discrete particles. The most famous example is the corpuscular theory of light, advanced by Isaac Newton, which imagined light as streams of tiny particles emitted by luminous bodies. This view contrasted with early wave theories, and although modern optics recognizes the particle–wave duality of light, the term corpuscular remains in historical discussion and in phrases such as corpuscular radiation, denoting particle-like radiation.

The term also connects with Corpuscularianism, a 17th-century philosophical approach that matter consists of small, indivisible corpuscles in motion, a stance associated with thinkers such as Robert Boyle. Over time, corpuscular models gave way to more comprehensive quantum and atomic theories, but the word survives in discourse as a descriptor for particle-based or discrete-component interpretations.

Today, corpuscular is primarily used in historical or descriptive contexts rather than as a standing scientific theory. It appears in discussions of older optical theories, historical atomism, and in reference to structures described as corpuscles in biology, medicine, or anatomy.