resurrectionist
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌrɛzəˈrɛkʃənɪst/
- NSFW
:
desenterrador de cadáveres
- In the 19th century, a resurrectionist would often dig up freshly buried corpses to sell them to medical schools.
Examples
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The notorious resurrectionist was finally caught after years of stealing bodies from the cemetery for medical experiments.
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And before you go about suggesting that I should make a living as a resurrectionist by supplying current from the wall socket, please observe that the distribution matters as much as the amount; it is not a question of counting up the total current.
Blog text (25) -
At some point, I must have decided, yes, I will track Dr. Anderson through the city and dig him up like a resurrectionist.
Academic text (2004) -
She read about a resurrectionist who was infamous for his illegal trade in human remains for anatomical research.
Synonyms
3
9.9
A person who steals dead bodies from graves to sell to medical schools for study
1
9.9
A person who digs up graves to sell bodies
1
9.4
A person who takes bodies or valuable things from graves without permission to sell
A person who steals dead bodies from graves to sell them to doctors
Surface Forms
Morphology
resurrectionist = resurrection (opaque) = resurrection + ist
Although morphologically 'resurrection' + '-ist', the historical euphemistic meaning 'body snatcher' is not derivable from the components and is a specialized, non-literal usage.
Etymology
Resurrectionist comes from resurrection ('raising to life') and was used in the past for people who dug up dead bodies to sell to medical schools. The idea was that they 'made the dead rise' from their graves, which explains the word's use for illegal body diggers.