| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
rigor mortis rigor mor·tis (môr'tĭs)
n.
Muscular stiffening following death. Also called postmortem rigidity.
| rigor mortis (rĭg'ər môr'tĭs) Pronunciation Key
Muscular stiffening following death, resulting from the unavailability of energy needed to interrupt contraction of the muscle fibers. |
Stiffening of the muscles of the body that occurs after death. Rigor mortis is Latin for “stiffness of death.”
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.”