from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tetanus \Tet"a*nus\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? stretched, ? to
stretch.]
1. (Med.) 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Physiol.) 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.
[1913 Webster]