lividity

American  

[li-vid-i-tee] / lɪˈvɪd ɪ ti /

Sometimes lividness

noun

1. a discolored, bluish appearance caused by a bruise, pooling of blood due to congestion of blood vessels, strangulation, etc..

   When the dead person is lying on their back, lividity will form on the buttocks, back, or backs of the legs.

2. a grayish or ashen appearance of the face; pallor.

   The traditional ghost image usually involves a certain paleness of the face—a corpselike lividity.

3. furious anger.

   When the generator they’d ordered arrived late and then failed to work, her lividity knew no bounds.

4. a reddish appearance of the face, as from strong emotion or embarrassment.

   I was on the shore with my parents, watching the sky flush scarlet with a hue like lividity rising to an angry face.

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Etymology

Origin of lividity

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin lividitas, equivalent to Latin līvid(us) “black and blue” + -itās -ity ( def. ); livid ( def. )

Example Sentences

She inspected the woman’s body to see whether her lividity patterns, which indicate the position of the body at the time of death, matched the husband’s story.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2020

Griping pains and repressed circulation follow, then copious purging of the intestines, followed by discharges of a thin watery fluid, lividity of the lips, cold breath and an unquenchable thirst.

From The Royal Road to Health by Tyrrell, Charles Alfred

Vibices and extensive ecchymoses of the surface are of much more grave import, and in cases where fatal sinking is threatened they may appear accompanying a purplish lividity of the countenance.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Post mortem, cadaveric lividity is well marked, especially in nose, lips, ears, etc.; the right cavities of the heart and the venæ cavæ are found gorged with dark fluid blood.

From Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by Robertson, W. G. Aitchison (William George Aitchison )

Post-Mortem Appearances.—Face swollen and livid, or calm and pale; lividity is most marked in eyelids, lips, ears, etc.; limbs usually flaccid, abdomen distended; right side of heart, lungs, and large veins, gorged with dark-coloured blood.

From Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by Robertson, W. G. Aitchison (William George Aitchison )