Semantics

Тело у Маши было красивое и стройное. Masha had a beautiful, slender body.
... Траум был коротенький человек... с маленькими ручками и бесформенным телом, более широким, чем толстым. [В. Набоков, Дар] ... Traum was a short little man... with delicate little hands and a shapeless body that was more stocky than fat. [V. Nabokov, The Gift]
This entry is concerned with the use of the word тело to refer to human and animal bodies; common sense will dictate which of the expressions in this entry can or cannot be used to refer to animals or humans. The word тело is also used to refer to the part of a human or animal body excluding the head and limbs. This usage is also described in this entry. In some cases, the context can help to distinguish between the two usages, e.g. громадная голова на тщедушном теле "an enormous head on a frail body." In most cases, this distinction is irrelevant. The word тело is also used to refer to a corpse. This usage is not described in this entry. In addition, the word тело has meanings that are not related to human or animal bodies at all, for example, "material, substance" (жидкие тела "liquid materials") or "an object in space" (небесные тела "heavenly bodies"); these meanings are not described in this dictionary.