lividity

American  

[li-vid-i-tee] / lɪˈvɪd ɪ ti /

Sometimes lividness

noun

1. a discolored, bluish appearance caused by a bruise, pooling of blood due to congestion of blood vessels, strangulation, etc..

   When the dead person is lying on their back, lividity will form on the buttocks, back, or backs of the legs.

2. a grayish or ashen appearance of the face; pallor.

   The traditional ghost image usually involves a certain paleness of the face—a corpselike lividity.

3. furious anger.

   When the generator they’d ordered arrived late and then failed to work, her lividity knew no bounds.

4. a reddish appearance of the face, as from strong emotion or embarrassment.

   I was on the shore with my parents, watching the sky flush scarlet with a hue like lividity rising to an angry face.

---

Etymology

Origin of lividity

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin lividitas, equivalent to Latin līvid(us) “black and blue” + -itās -ity ( def. ); livid ( def. )

Example Sentences

She inspected the woman’s body to see whether her lividity patterns, which indicate the position of the body at the time of death, matched the husband’s story.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2020

His motionless face has the lividity of wax; his lips are violet and half open.

From Life and Writings of Maurice Maeterlinck by Bithell, Jethro

Griping pains and repressed circulation follow, then copious purging of the intestines, followed by discharges of a thin watery fluid, lividity of the lips, cold breath and an unquenchable thirst.

From The Royal Road to Health by Tyrrell, Charles Alfred

This complication is attended with increasing dyspnoea, decided lividity of the face and extremities, and great prostration.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

On the 15th his condition was good, the swelling had somewhat augmented, there was not so much lividity, but the yellowish hue had increased.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)