\Ma*ras"mus\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ?, to quench, as fire; pass., to die away.] (Med.) A wasting of flesh without fever or apparent disease; a kind of consumption; atrophy; phthisis. Pining atrophy, Marasmus, and wide-wasting pestilence. --Milton. {Marasmus senilis} [L.], progressive atrophy of the aged.