rigor mortis
English · Español · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
rigor mortis
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from New Latin rigor mortis (literally “stiffness of death”). First attested in 1842.
noun rigor mortises · rigour mortis
-
Temporary stiffness of the body's muscles and joints following death.
Such are the principal phenomena observed during that form of contraction which I conceive to be analogous to the rigor mortis...
Similar: death-stiffness, rigor
verb rigor mortises · rigor mortising · rigor mortised · rigour mortis
- To stiffen the muscles and joints with, or as if with, rigor mortis. As Olive was in the kitchen making some tea I asked what kind of louse the host was. “The kind you like to see laying out on a mortuary slab rigor mortising before the introduction.”
Translations
Every language
noun temporary stiffness of the body following death
| Español | rigor mortis, rigidez cadavérica |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 死後硬直 shigo kōchoku |
| 中文 | 屍僵 /尸僵 shījiāng |
| Português | rigor mortis, rigidez cadavérica |
| Français | rigidité cadavérique, rigor mortis |
| Deutsch | Totenstarre, Leichenstarre |
| Italiano | rigor mortis |
| Ελληνικά | νεκρική ακαμψία nekrikí akampsía |
| Română | rigiditate cadaverică |
| Русский | тру́пное окочене́ние trúpnoje okočenénije |
Talk about this word "rigor mortis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rigor%20mortis. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rigor mortis. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rigor%20mortis "rigor mortis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rigor%20mortis.Cite this
@misc{rigor_mortis_2026,
title = {rigor mortis},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rigor%20mortis},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
