The Collaborative International Dictionary
Wrist \Wrist\, n. [OE. wriste, wrist, AS. wrist; akin to OFries. wriust, LG. wrist, G. rist wrist, instep, Icel. rist instep, Dan. & Sw. vrist, and perhaps to E. writhe.]
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(Anat.) The joint, or the region of the joint, between the hand and the arm; the carpus. See Carpus.
He took me by the wrist, and held me hard.
--Shak. -
(Mach.) A stud or pin which forms a journal; -- also called wrist pin.
Bridle wrist, the wrist of the left hand, in which a horseman holds the bridle.
Wrist clonus. [NL. clonus, fr. Gr. ?. See Clonic.] (Med.) A series of quickly alternating movements of flexion and extension of the wrist, produced in some cases of nervous disease by suddenly bending the hand back upon the forearm.
Wrist drop (Med.), paralysis of the extensor muscles of the hand, affecting the hand so that when an attempt is made to hold it out in line with the forearm with the palm down, the hand drops. It is chiefly due to plumbism. Called also hand drop.
Wrist plate (Steam Engine), a swinging plate bearing two or more wrists, for operating the valves.
Wikipedia
Wrist drop, also known as radial nerve palsy, is a condition where a person cannot extend their wrist and it hangs flaccidly. To demonstrate wrist drop, hold your arm out in front of you with your forearm parallel to the floor. With the back of your hand facing the ceiling (i.e. pronated), let your hand hang limply so that your fingers point downward. A person with wrist drop would be unable to move from this position to one in which the fingers are pointing up towards the ceiling.
Usage examples of "wrist drop".
He jumped back from a great whistling stroke that could have sliced him in half at the waist, felt the blade coming around in an enormous circling cut that he thought was another head cut, until he felt his wrist drop and the long, thin blade sliced through the cat-creature’.