tetanus
NounUS[tet-uh-nuhs]/ˈtɛtənəs/3 syllables
Synonyms:
lockjaw
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)
- an acute and serious infection of the central nervous system caused by bacterial infection of open wounds; spasms of the jaw and laryngeal muscles may occur during the late stagesSynonyms: lockjawType of infection
- a sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulsesType of contraction, muscular contraction
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Tet′a·nus noun
Origin: L., fr. Gr. …, fr. … stretched, … to stretch.
1. Medicine A painful and usually fatal disease, resulting generally from a wound, and having as its principal symptom persistent spasm of the voluntary muscles. When the muscles of the lower jaw are affected, it is called locked-jaw, or lickjaw, and it takes various names from the various incurvations of the body resulting from the spasm.
2. Physiology That condition of a muscle in which it is in a state of continued vibratory contraction, as when stimulated by a series of induction shocks.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54