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rictus

[rik-tuh s]
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noun, plural ric·tus, ric·tus·es.
  1. the gape of the mouth of a bird.
  2. the gaping or opening of the mouth.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for rictus

Historical Examples

  • 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

  • Then his mouth twisted in a rictus of dreadful mirth, so wrung was he with pain, yet so overcome by what he had seen.

  • His gold tooth, gleaming in the light, made his rictus of passion more venomous, more malevolent still.

    The Air Trust

    George Allan England

  • He only stood and smiled—that awful smile which expressed more anguish than any rictus of pain.

  • The sensation of gaiety due to the sudden shock caused by the rictus of Gwynplaine was evidently not intended by Ursus.

British Dictionary definitions for rictus

rictus

noun plural -tus or -tuses
  1. the gap or cleft of an open mouth or beak
  2. a fixed or unnatural grin or grimace, as in horror or death
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Derived Formsrictal, adjective

Word Origin

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