rictus : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for February 20 is:

rictus \RIK-tus\ noun
1 : the gape of a bird's mouth
2 a : the mouth orifice *b: a gaping grin or grimace

Example sentence:
Randy's face contorted into a rictus that made his promise to keep Phoebe's secret seem insincere.

Did you know?
When "rictus" was first used in English in the early 19th century, it referred to the hole formed by the mouth of a bird. Later, it was applied to the mouths of other animals, including humans. In Latin "rictus" means "an open mouth"; it comes from verb "ringi," which means "to open the mouth." In English, "rictus" eventually acquired a sense referring to the expression of someone grinning widely, as in Lawrence Durrell's 1957 novel _Justine_: "This ghastly _rictus_ gouged out in his taut cheeks." Although "rictus" might be used to describe the mouth of a laughing or smiling person, it is not related to "risible," a word associated with laughter. Rather, "risible" descends from Latin "ridere," which means "to laugh."

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