- a sustained gaping, as of a bird's beak or an animal's mouth
- the opening so produced
- a fixed, gaping grin
Origin of rictus
Modern Latin from L, open mouth from past participle of ringi, to gaperictus
ric·tusWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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rictus
noun
pl. rictus, or ric·tus·es- A gaping grimace: “his mouth gaping in a kind of rictus of startled alarm” ( Richard Adams )
- a. The expanse of an open mouth or a bird's beak.b. The corner of the mouth or the fleshy area where the upper and lower mandibles of a bird meet.
Origin of rictus
Latin from past participle of ringī to gapeRelated Forms:
- ric′tal
adjective
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"Rictus." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus.
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Rictus. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"Rictus." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus.
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Rictus. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus
rictus - Medical Definition
n.
pl. rictus or rictuses- A gaping grimace.
- The expanse of an open mouth or a bird's beak.
- The corner of the mouth or the fleshy area where the upper and lower mandibles of a bird meet.
Related Forms:
- ric′tal
adj.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"Rictus." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus.
APA Style
Rictus. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Rictus
