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antemortem

or an·te-mor·tem, an·te mor·tem

[an-tee-mawr-tuh m]
adjective
  1. before death: an antemortem confession.
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Origin of antemortem

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1880–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ante-mortem

Historical Examples

  • How much better is ante-mortem charity than post-mortem beneficence.

    Brave Men and Women

    O.E. Fuller

  • If we are to be stuffed, we prefer to have it an ante-mortem performance, don't we, little dog?

  • A hush came upon them,53 for it was seen that he was intending to make some kind of an ante-mortem statement.

    Whilomville Stories

    Stephen Crane

  • Greyerson says so, at least, and when I didn't believe him he called in Hartt and Bushnell to hold my ante-mortem.

    The Destroying Angel

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • The latter is certainly much nicer to play with, in the ante-mortem state.

British Dictionary definitions for ante-mortem

ante-mortem

adjective, adverb
  1. (esp in legal or medical contexts) before death
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Word Origin

Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ante-mortem in Medicine

antemortem

(ăn′tē-môr′təm)
adj.
  1. Before death.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.