Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Withers"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
withers
n 1: sensibility to trouble (as in the phrase "wring one's
withers"); "the lawsuit was wringing his withers"; "our
withers are unwrung"--Shakespeare
2: the highest part of the back at the base of the neck of
various animals especially draft animals
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