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| quote = Perhaps the best definition of a corporation was given by Chief Justice John Marshall in a famous Supreme Court decision in 1819. A corporation, he said, 'is an artificial person, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of the law.' In other words, a '''corporation''' [...] is an artificial person, created by law, with most of the legal rights of a real person.
}}
</ref> with a discrete [[legal personality]], [[perpetual succession]], and a [[Company seal|common seal]].
▲with a discrete [[legal personality]], [[perpetual succession]], and a [[Company seal|common seal]].{{citation needed|date= October 2013}} Except for some senior positions, companies remain unaffected by the death, insanity, or [[insolvency]] of an individual member.
===Etymology===
The English word ''company'' has its origins in the [[Old French]] term ''compagnie'' (first recorded in 1150), meaning a "society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers",<ref>12th century: {{OEtymD|company}}</ref> which came from the [[Late Latin]] word ''companio'' ("one who eats bread with you"), first attested in the
=== Semantics and usage ===
By 1303, the word referred to
Compare:
{{OEtymD|company}} - '[...] the word having been used in reference to trade guilds from late 14c.'
</ref>. Usage of the term ''company'' to mean "business association" was first recorded in 1553,<ref>▼
▲Usage of the term ''company'' to mean "business association" was first recorded in 1553,<ref>
Compare:
{{OEtymD|company}} - 'From late 14c. as "a number of persons united to perform or carry out anything jointly," which developed a commercial sense of "business association" by 1550s, the word having been used in reference to trade guilds from late 14c.'
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===United Kingdom===
{{See also|List of companies of the United Kingdom}}
In [[English law]] and in legal jurisdictions based upon it, a company is a [[Legal personality|body corporate]] or corporation company registered under the
</ref>. Common forms include:
▲* [[Private company limited by guarantee|private companies limited by guarantee]]
* [[Community interest company]]
* [[Charitable incorporated organisation]]
* [[Private company limited by shares|
* [[Public limited company|
In the United Kingdom, a [[partnership]] is not legally a company, but may sometimes be referred to
===United States===
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| quote = "2. A corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, fund, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, and (in an official capacity) any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or similar official, or liquidating [[Law of agency|agent]], for any of the foregoing. Investment Company Act 2(a)(8)(15 USCA 80a-2(a)(8))."
}}
</ref><ref name="Black's">Black's Law and lee Dictionary. Second Pocket Edition. Bryan A. Garner, editor. West. 2001.</ref> In the [[United States|US]], a company is not necessarily a corporation.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/company|title= Company legal definition of company|work= TheFreeDictionary.com | quote = company [:] any formal business entity for profit which may be a corporation, a partnership, association or individual proprietorship. Often people think the term "company" means the business is incorporated, but that is not true. In fact, a corporation usually must use some term in its name such as "corporation," "incorporated," "corp." or "inc." to show it is a corporation.}}
</ref>
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