livor mortis

[ lahy-vawr mawr-tis, -ver ]

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. a bluish-purple discoloration of the skin on the dependent parts of a dead human body, caused by hypostasis, or accumulation of blood due to the action of gravity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of livor mortis¹

From Latin livor “bluish-purple” + mortis “of death”