Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

Source : WordNet®

tetanus
     n 1: an acute and serious infection of the central nervous system
          caused by bacterial infection of open wounds; spasms of
          the jaw and laryngeal muscles may occur during the late
          stages [syn: {lockjaw}]
     2: a sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid
        series of nerve impulses