death mask

noun

1. a cast taken of a person's face after death.

death mask

noun

1. a cast of a person's face taken shortly after death Compare life mask

Word History and Origins

Origin of death mask¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

These, however, also feel funereal, like death masks taken after a long-suffering friend has been freed finally from corporeal struggles.

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In the book, the character calls it her “death mask.”

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A model of the face of Bonnie Prince Charlie had been created using hundreds of images taken from death masks.

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A team at the University of Dundee's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification used death masks to recreate the Scottish prince's looks.

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It appeared so lifelike that the effect was unsettling, as if I were looking at Bradford look at his own death mask.

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