Crossword clues for withers
withers
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Withers \With"ers\, n. pl. [Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. wi[eth]re, fr. wi[eth]er against; akin to G. widerrist withers. See With, prep.] The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse.
Let the galled jade wince; our withers are unwrung.
--Shak.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1570s, probably from a dialectal survival of Old English wiðer "against, contrary, opposite" (see with) + plural suffix. Usually said to be so called because the withers are the parts of the animal that oppose the load. Compare German Widerrist "withers," from wider "against" + Rist "wrist."
Wiktionary
n. (context veterinary medicine English) The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height. vb. (en-third-person singular of: wither)
WordNet
n. sensibility to trouble (as in the phrase `wring one's withers'); "the lawsuit was wringing his withers"; "our withers are unwrung"--Shakespeare
the highest part of the back at the base of the neck of various animals especially draft animals
Wikipedia
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height (in contrast, cattle are normally measured to the top of the hips).
Withers — earlier Wither, Wyther — is an English surname of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is today a not uncommon family name throughout the Anglosphere.
The withers is a part of the back of a horse, dog or other quadruped.
Withers or Wither may also refer to:
Usage examples of "withers".
As it withers, the many-pointed leaf of the white bryony and the bine as it shrivels, in like manner, do their part.
Mr Boffin, who hear it, rejoiced within himself, comforting himself with the reflection that his withers were unwrung, and thinking with what pleasure he might carry the anecdote into the farthest corners of the clubs.