postmorte

Postmorte is a Latin term meaning “after death.” In English-language scholarship, the form postmortem (or post-mortem) is far more common. Postmorte tends to occur in historical, philological, or translational contexts and is rarely used in contemporary scientific writing.

Etymology and usage

The word combines the Latin prefix post- (“after”) with mortem (“death”). As a Latin form, postmorte can appear in medieval or early modern texts and may function similarly to postmortem in that corpus, though spelling and usage vary by manuscript tradition. In modern English, postmorte is largely obsolescent and primarily encountered when quoting or translating older sources.

Applications

Historically, postmorte may be found in discussions or annotations related to events, analyses, or interpretations following death in Latin manuscripts. In linguistic or philological work, it may be cited as part of a Latin phrase or to preserve a source’s orthography. In contemporary practice, the preferred term is postmortem, especially in medicine, archaeology, and forensic science, where postmortem examinations and analyses are standard terms.

See also

Postmortem, autopsy, forensic pathology, Latin phrases.