lickjaw

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]