rigor mortis
[rig-er mawr-tis, or, esp. British, rahy-gawr]
- the stiffening of the body after death.
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Origin of rigor mortis
1830–40; < Latin: literally, stiffness of death
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
rigor mortis
- 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
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Word Origin
C19: Latin, literally: rigidity of death
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for rigor mortis
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rigor mortis
(môr′tĭs)- Muscular stiffening following death.postmortem rigidity
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
rigor mortis
[rĭg′ər môr′tĭs]
- Muscular stiffening following death, resulting from the unavailability of energy needed to interrupt contraction of the muscle fibers.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rigor mortis
[(rig-uhr mawr-tis)]
Stiffening of the muscles of the body that occurs after death. Rigor mortis is Latin for “stiffness of death.”
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Note
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.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.