antemortem

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ante mortem (“before death”).

Adjective

antemortem (not comparable)

1. Having occurred or having been inflicted before death.

   Synonyms: anthumous, predeath, prehumous, premortem

   Antonyms: posthumous, postmortem

   Coordinate term: perimortem

   Although the antemortem injuries are severe, they are not the cause of death.

   • 2003, Marianne D. Miliotis, Jeffrey W. Bier, International Handbook of Foodborne Pathogens, page 809:

     Data for the potential human exposure portion of the model include antemortem and postmortem inspection, pneumatic stunning, carcass missplitting, advanced meat recovery systems, and […]

   • 2023, Anne L. Grauer, “Introduction” (chapter 1), in The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, Routledge, →DOI, →ISBN, page 5:

     These efforts have contributed to the use of coherent terminology that reduces misinterpretation: for instance, the use of the medical term “erosion” is not suitable for paleopathology since it could ambiguously refer to both antemortem and taphonomic processes.

Adverb

antemortem (not comparable)

1. Having occurred or having been inflicted before death.

   Synonyms: anthumously, prehumously, premortem

   Antonyms: posthumously, postmortem

   Coordinate term: perimortem

   • 1978, BARInternational Series, British Archaeological Reports, →ISBN, page 167:

     These teeth have small pieces of enamel missing from the edges of the crowns, but it was not possible to establish if this had happened antemortem or postmortem.

   • 1985, “Part A: Biological Methods”, in Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, →ISBN, “Fish, Seabirds, and Mammals”, “Marine Mammals”, “Spills of Opportunity”, page 194:

     Stranded animals provide useful information on effects of the physiology and, therefore, samples should be collected and analyzed to confirm results of studies done antemortem.

   • 2016, Steven N. Byers, “Chapter 11: Death, Trauma, and the Skeleton”, in Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, 4th edition, Routledge, →ISBN, “Timing of Bone Injury”, “Antemortem Trauma”, page 243:

     Since the process of healing has distinctive characteristics, injuries that occur antemortem usually can be distinguished from those that occur at the time of, or after, death.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer- (die) (0 c, 43 e)

Further reading

• “antemortem”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “antemortem”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.