compursion

A pursing, as of the lips.

Noun

  1. A pursing, as of the lips.
    • However, as he knew not what the true cause might turn out, he deemed it most prudent, in the situation he was in at present, to bear it, if possible, like a Stoic, which, with the help of some wry faces and compursions...
    • A compursion of the boy's face. "Does it mean something I don't understand?" - 2001, Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys, page 254:

Origin

From com- (prefix meaning ‘together’) + purse (“to press (one’s lips) in and together so that they protrude”, verb) + -ion (suffix denoting an action or process, or condition or state).

Forms

compursions