rictus

A bird’s gaping mouth.

Noun

  1. A bird’s gaping mouth.
  2. The throat of a calyx.
  3. Any open-mouthed expression.
    • His face was a rictus of sheer delight.
    • Amid a thick, bristling beard, a nose like an owl's beak and a mouth whose corners were drawn by a wild-beast-like rictus were just discernible. - 1899, Victor Hugo, translated by Paul Maurice, The Memoirs of Victor...
    • A rictus of cruel malignity lit up greyly their old bony faces. - 1916, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man:

Origin

Etymology tree Latin rictuslbor. English rictus Learned borrowing from Latin rictus.

Forms

rictus rictuses

Derived

rictal