In the wasted bodies of those who have suffered starvation, the muscles are shrunk and unnaturally soft, and have lost their Contractibility; all those parts of the body which were capable of entering into the state of motion have served to protect the remainder of the frame from the destructive influence of the atmosphere.
"Familiar Letters of Chemistry"
Justus Liebig
Rough and repulsive in appearance, and sluggish in habit, it has great power of Contractibility.
"The Confessions of a Beachcomber"
E J Banfield