Is 'Corporate' (as a noun) simply a shorter form of 'Corporation'?
Also, if a condition dictates that 'a company name can't include the word corporation', does this mean that by default 'corporate' cannot be used as well?
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2Corporate as a noun is usually short for “[Corporate] Headquarters” which is a metonym for “The bigwigs who run the place”– JimCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 7:58
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1@jim There is a noun form of corporate, but it means "a bond issued by a business corporation." In corporate headquarters, corporate is not a noun, it's an adjective. Similarly, that's the difference as it applies to the context of this question: corporate is an adjective and corporation is a noun.– Jason BassfordCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 8:14
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1According to Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, corporate is also a noun. It is defined as 'a company, especially a large one'. @JasonBassford.– Ohood.94Commented Jan 2, 2019 at 8:22
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1@Ohood.94 Wow, you're right. From Oxford Dictionaries: 'Because of this amendment, corporates can now directly procure goods from farmers.’, ‘More and more corporates are therefore setting up centres in the city.’ And so on. Fascinating. I have never heard the word used this way before. I wonder if it's only done in UK English?– Jason BassfordCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 8:26
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1I would edit your question to provide links and dictionary definitions. Unless you can show a US English dictionary that has the same noun definition, it may be something regional.– Jason BassfordCommented Jan 2, 2019 at 8:29
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2 Answers
After editing in banking and academia for 25 years, I can attest to the fact that 'corporate' is sometimes used as a noun in business jargon, either meaning corporation, or often, as an abbreviation for 'corporate customer' in one large American bank. However, it always rubbed me (a linguistically conservative American) the wrong way.
Corporate is a form of business. Basically, a corporate is a big company owned by shareholders. Corporation is a legal term. A corporation is the legal entity (a non-human legal person) that directly "owns" the corresponding corporate. Semantically, when one talks about business planning, cost and profits, company management, and other things related with running a big company, he should generally prefer the word "corporate". While strictly speaking, one can only strike a deal with a corporation (not a corporate), be employed by a corporation( not a corporate), or sue a corporation (not a corporate). But in informal language, the two words are often used interchangeably.
