lacer

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lacerated p. pr. & vb. n. Lacerating ] [ L. laceratus, p. p. of lacerare to lacerate, fr. lacer mangled, lacerated; cf. Gr. &unr_; a rent, rending, &unr_; to tear; perh. akin to E. slay. ] To tear; to rend; to separate by tearing; to mangle; as, to lacerate the flesh. Hence: To afflict; to torture; as, to lacerate the heart. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } p. a. [ L. laceratus, p. p. ] 1. Rent; torn; mangled; as, a lacerated wound. [ 1913 Webster ]

By each other's fury lacerate Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot. & Zool.) Jagged, or slashed irregularly, at the end, or along the edge. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. torn roughly; -- of skin.
Syn. -- mangled, torn. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. laceratio: cf. F. lacération. ] 1. The act of lacerating. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A breach or wound made by lacerating. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Lacerating, or having the power to lacerate; as, lacerative humors. Harvey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lacerte. See Lacertus. ] A muscle of the human body. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. lacertus the arm. ] A fathom. [ Obs. ] Domesday Book. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. a lizard. See Lizard. ] 1. (Zool.) A genus of lizards. See Lizard. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Formerly it included nearly all the known lizards. It is now restricted to certain diurnal Old World species, like the green lizard (Lacerta viridis) and the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis), of Europe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) The Lizard, a northern constellation. [ 1913 Webster ]