death's-headmedical dictionary

A naked human skull as the emblem of death; the head of the conventional personification of death. "I had rather be married to a death's-head with a bone in his mouth.

<zoology> " (Shak) Death's-head moth, a very large European moth (Acherontia atropos), so called from a figure resembling a human skull on the back of the thorax.

Synonyms: death's-head sphinx.

(01 Mar 1998)