thanato-
(ˈθænətəʊ)
before a vowel thanat-, combining form of Gr. θάνατος death, chiefly in scientific words. ˌthanato-bioˈlogic a. (see quot.). ˌthanatocœˈnosis, -ˈcœnose (also U.S. -cen-) Ecol. [a. G. thanatocoenose (E. Wasmund 1926, in Arch. f. Hydrobiol. XVII. 6), f. Gr. κοίνωσις sharing, as in biocœnosis], a group of fossils occurring in the same location but not necessarily representing a former biocœnosis. thanatognoˈmonic a., indicative or characteristic of death. thanaˈtography, nonce-wd. [after biography], an account of a person's death. thanatoˈmantic a. [see -mantic], of or pertaining to divination concerning death. thanaˈtometer (see quots.). thanatoˈphilia [-philia], an undue fascination with death. ‖ thanatoˈphobia (also thanaˈtophoby), morbid fear of death. thanatoˈphoric a. Path. [ad. F. thanatophore (P. Maroteaux et al. 1967, in Presse Méd. LXXV. 2519), ad. Gr. θανατηϕόρος death-bringing] applied to a form of dwarfism that results in death (see quot. 1977). ‖ thanaˈtopsis [Gr. ὄψις sight, view], a contemplation of death. thanatoˈtyphus, malignant typhus.
| 1899 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Thanato-biologic, pertaining to life and death. |
| 1953 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. CCLI. 25 The term ‘*thanatocoenosis’ implies a community of death; as used by Wasmund, however, it has come to mean the aggregated remains of organisms that in many cases never constituted a biocoenosis. 1957 Sci. News XLIII. 71 A fossil ‘community’ (a thanatocoenose or death assemblage) is seldom if ever identical with the original biocoenose. 1967 Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. V. 452 The following (and last) regression..left a very rich fauna which forms most of the thanatocoenoses lying under the present sea level. 1975 Nature 23 Oct. 667/2 It is well known that factors such as habitat preference of the animals in question,..and the environmental setting influence the likelihood of the preservation of thanatocoenoses. 1977 Biotropica IX. 131 (heading) A small-vertebrate thanatocenosis from northern Peru. |
| 1862 G. W. Balfour tr. Casper's Forensic Med. §55 II. vi. 239 The lungs in the more or less recent bodies of those drowned..present an appearance so peculiar as to be truly *thanatognomonic. |
| 1839 Thackeray Catherine vi, The excellent ‘Newgate Calendar’..contains the biographies and *thanatographies of Hayes and his wife. |
| 1841 Fraser's Mag. XXV. 270 The deuteroscopic or *thanatomantic faculty of the Germans. |
| 1860 Mayne Expos. Lex., Thanatometrum,..term by Nasse [of Berlin] for a means of indicating the actual presence of death; a death-measurer: a *thanatometer. 1899 Syd. Soc. Lex., Thanatometer, a thermometer capable of being introduced into the stomach to determine whether the depression of temperature is sufficient to be looked on as a sign of death. |
| 1974 Time 28 Jan. 77/2 Romantic cults seem to spring up rapidly round poets who die young. An element of *thanatophilia enters into the worship of such poets. 1979 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 25 Oct. 18/4 Many of Sciascia's tales have, at their heart, thanatophilia. |
| 1860 Mayne Expos. Lex., *Thanatophobia, term for a dread or fear of death: *thanatophoby. 1903 Alien. & Neurol. May 170 Pessimism is frequently associated with morbid fear of death (thanatophobia). |
| 1971 Lancet 12 June 1234/1 An achondroplastic shows some cartilage formation (in fact quite a lot, even in the *thanatophoric form). 1977 Ibid. 16 Apr. 854/1 Thanatophoric dwarfism is a congenital chondrodystrophy characterised by short extremities, narrow thorax, a trunk of normal length, and a relatively large head... Affected infants usually die soon after birth. |
| 1816 W. C. Bryant (title) *Thanatopsis. |
| 1860 Mayne Expos. Lex., *Thanatotyphus. 1890 in Billings Med. Dict. |