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rigor - 7 dictionary results

rig⋅or

  [rig-er]
Use rigor in a Sentence
–noun
1. strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people.
2. the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc.
3. severity of living conditions; hardship; austerity: the rigor of wartime existence.
4. a severe or harsh act, circumstance, etc.
5. scrupulous or inflexible accuracy or adherence: the logical rigor of mathematics.
6. severity of weather or climate or an instance of this: the rigors of winter.
7. Pathology. a sudden coldness, as that preceding certain fevers; chill.
8. Physiology. a state of rigidity in muscle tissues during which they are unable to respond to stimuli due to the coagulation of muscle protein.
9. Obsolete. stiffness or rigidity.
Also, especially British, rigour.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME rigour < L rigor stiffness, equiv. to rig(ēre) to be stiff + -or -or 1

Synonyms:
1. inflexibility, stringency. 4. cruelty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rig·or   (rĭg'ər)   
n.  
  1. Strictness or severity, as in temperament, action, or judgment.
  2. A harsh or trying circumstance; hardship. See Synonyms at difficulty.
  3. A harsh or cruel act.
  4. Medicine Shivering or trembling, as caused by a chill.
  5. Physiology A state of rigidity in living tissues or organs that prevents response to stimuli.
  6. Obsolete Stiffness or rigidity.

[Middle English rigour, from Old French, from Latin rigor, from rigēre, to be stiff; see reig- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Rigor

Ri"gor\, n. [L. See Rigor., below.]

1. Rigidity; stiffness.

2. (ed.) A sense of chilliness, with contraction of the skin; a convulsive shuddering or tremor, as in the chill preceding a fever.

Rigor caloris[L., rigor of heat] (Physiol.), a form of rigor mortis induced by heat, as when the muscle of a mammal is heated to about 50[deg]C.

Rigor mortis[L., rigor of death], death stiffening; the rigidity of the muscles that occurs at death and lasts till decomposition sets in. It is due to the formation of myosin by the coagulation of the contents of the individual muscle fibers.

Rigor

Rig"or\, n. [OE. rigour, OF. rigour, F. rigueur, from L. rigor, fr. rigere to be stiff. See Rigid.] [Written also rigour.]

1. The becoming stiff or rigid; the state of being rigid; rigidity; stiffness; hardness.

The rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move. --Milton.

2. (Med.) See 1st Rigor, 2.

3. Severity of climate or season; inclemency; as, the rigor of the storm; the rigors of winter.

4. Stiffness of opinion or temper; rugged sternness; hardness; relentless severity; hard-heartedness; cruelty.

All his rigor is turned to grief and pity. --Denham.

If I shall be condemn'd Upon surmises, . . . I tell you 'T is rigor and not law. --Shak.

5. Exactness without allowance, deviation, or indulgence; strictness; as, the rigor of criticism; to execute a law with rigor; to enforce moral duties with rigor; -- opposed to lenity.

6. Severity of life; austerity; voluntary submission to pain, abstinence, or mortification.

The prince lived in this convent with all the rigor and austerity of a capuchin. --Addison.

7. Violence; force; fury. [Obs.]

Whose raging rigor neither steel nor brass could stay. --Spenser.

Syn: Stiffness; rigidness; inflexibility; severity; austerity; sternness; harshness; strictness; exactness.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rigor
Spanish: rigor,
German: die Strenge,
Japanese: きびしさ
More Translations »

rigor 
c.1386, from O.Fr. rigor (13c.), from L. rigorem (nom. rigor) "numbness, stiffness, rigor," from rigere "be stiff" (see rigid). Rigor mortis is 1839, from L. rigor "stiffness" + mortis, gen. of mors "death" (see mortal).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: rig·or
Pronunciation: 'rig-&r, Brit also 'rI-"gor
Function: noun
1 a : CHILL 1 b : a tremor caused by a chill
2 a : rigidity or torpor of organs or tissue thatprevents response to stimuli b : RIGOR MORTIS
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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rigor rig·or (rĭg'ər)
n.

  1. See rigidity.
  2. Shivering or trembling, as caused by a chill.
  3. A state of rigidity in living tissues or organs that prevents response to stimuli.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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