opisthotonos

noun

1. Sustained tetanic spasm in which the body is bent backwards and stiffened, as produced by various diseases.

   uncountable

   [T]he Actors struggled & bounced, and sprunted as if in Convulsions; like Patients under the Influence of a Disease called in Jamaica the Opisthotonos or dry Gripes […].

Where it comes from

From Latin opisthotonus, and its source, Ancient Greek ὀπισθότονος (opisthótonos), corresponding to opistho- + tonus (“muscle tension”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry opisthotonos (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← opacousoppilate →

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