corpuscle (n.)

1650s, "any small particle," from Latin corpusculum "a puny body; an atom, particle," diminutive of corpus "body" (from PIE root *kwrep- "body, form, appearance"); for ending see -cule. In anatomy, "a microscopic body regarded by itself" (1741); applied to blood cells by 1845 (short for blood-corpuscle). Related: Corpuscular.