A "corpus" refers to a large collection of written or spoken texts that are used for linguistic analysis. Researchers and linguists compile corpora to study language patterns, vocabulary usage, and grammar. These collections can include books, articles, conversations, and other forms of communication, providing valuable insights into how language functions in different contexts. Corpora can be specialized, focusing on specific genres or topics, such as academic writing or conversational speech. They are essential tools in fields like computational linguistics and natural language processing, helping to develop algorithms and models that understand and generate human language more effectively.