rigor mortis

[ rig-er mawr-tis, or, especially British, rahy-gawr ]

noun

1. the stiffening of the body after death.

rigor mortis

/ ˈrɪɡə ˈmɔːtɪs /

noun

1. pathol the stiffness of joints and muscular rigidity of a dead body, caused by depletion of ATP in the tissues. It begins two to four hours after death and lasts up to about four days, after which the muscles and joints relax

rigor mortis

/ rĭg′ərmôr′tĭs /

1. Muscular stiffening following death, resulting from the unavailability of energy needed to interrupt contraction of the muscle fibers.

rigor mortis

1. Stiffening of the muscles of the body that occurs after death. Rigor mortis is Latin for “stiffness of death.”

Notes

Figuratively, rigor mortis refers to an absence of flexibility or vitality: “By the time the school finally closed, rigor mortis had set in in nearly every department.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of rigor mortis¹

1830–40; < Latin: literally, stiffness of death

Word History and Origins

Origin of rigor mortis¹

C19: Latin, literally: rigidity of death

Example Sentences

I bedded down for this debate, Scotch in hand, expecting to be bored five ways to rigor mortis.

From The Daily Beast

In 1991, kissable Johnny was found in a New Orleans hotel with a horrible case of rigor mortis.

From The Daily Beast

Look,” she enthused, flipping over several red-eyed mullets, “these are so fresh rigor mortis has not yet set in.

From The Daily Beast

The tissues then become tough and hard, a condition known as rigor mortis.

From Project Gutenberg

But as I watched I saw them begin to stiffen, exactly as though rigor mortis had set in.

From Project Gutenberg

Under the back of Rand's hand, Rivers's cheek was cold; his muscles had already begun to stiffen in rigor mortis.

From Project Gutenberg

This condition is known as rigor mortis, and continues until the third stage, when the first changes of decomposition set in.

From Project Gutenberg

Rigor mortis is generally not well developed, and is of short duration.

From Project Gutenberg