Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The laughing-muscle, some transverse fibers of the platysma that are inserted into the angle of the mouth: more fully called risorius Santorini. Also risilabialis.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A facial muscle that draws the angle of the mouth outward and is used when smiling.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • A portion, called the risorius, is represented in the woodcut (M) fig. 2.

    The expression of the emotions in man and animals 1898

  • The Professor tells me there is a muscular slip, a dependence of the platysma myoides, which is called the risorius

    Autocrat of the Breakfast Table Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

  • The Professor tells me there is a muscular slip, a dependence of the platysma myoides, which is called the risorius

    Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works Oliver Wendell Holmes 1851

  • After that, you can tell a fake smile because the risorius and platysma muscles pull the lower lip down and out, squaring it and exposing the lower teeth.

    Diary Palahniuk, Chuck 2003

  • The Indian ring-dove (_T. risorius_) also occurs in the Western

    Birds of the Indian Hills Douglas Dewar 1916

  • My _risorius de Santorini_ must still go on working more than fifty times.

    My Double Life The Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt 1884

  • I simply kept on with my little _risorius de Santorini_, half closed my eyes, held out mechanically the arm at the end of which was the hand that had to shake and be shaken.

    My Double Life The Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt 1884

  • Three species are found in Palestine, (1) the turtle-dove (Turtur auritus), (2) the collared turtle (T. risorius), and (3) the palm turtle (T. Senegalensis).

    Easton's Bible Dictionary M.G. Easton 1897

  • She’s making a nasty face, her risorius muscles cinching her face tight around her nose while she dries her hands on her dark skirt.

    Diary Palahniuk, Chuck 2003

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