rictus

[ rik-tuh s ]

/ ˈrɪk təs /

noun, plural ric·tus, ric·tus·es.

the gape of the mouth of a bird.

the gaping or opening of the mouth.

Nearby words

Origin of rictus

1750–60; < Latin: wide-open mouth, equivalent to rig-, variant stem of ringī to open the mouth wide + -tus suffix of v. action.

Related formsric·tal, adjectivesub·ric·tal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rictus

Then his mouth twisted in a rictus of dreadful mirth, so wrung was he with pain, yet so overcome by what he had seen.
The Terms of Surrender|Louis Tracy
The lovely lips twisted into a rictus sneer, frightening on that smooth young face, until she got them under control.
The Tunnel Under The World|Frederik Pohl
Nor can the rictus caninus or the tortura oris have been other than spasms or oontractures of the face.
Tics and Their Treatment|Henry Meigne
His gold tooth, gleaming in the light, made his rictus of passion more venomous, more malevolent still.
The Air Trust|George Allan England

Rictus, rik′tus, n. the gape of the bill: the throat of the calyx.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for rictus

rictus

/ (ˈrɪktəs) /

noun plural -tus or -tuses

the gap or cleft of an open mouth or beak

a fixed or unnatural grin or grimace, as in horror or death

Derived Formsrictal, adjective

Word Origin for rictus

C18: from Latin, from ringī to gape

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