Hypertext Webster Gateway: "wryneck"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Wryneck \Wry"neck\, n. (Med.)
1. A twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck
is drawn to one side by a rigid contraction of one of the
muscles of the neck; torticollis.
2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of Old World birds
of the genus {Jynx}, allied to the woodpeckers;
especially, the common European species ({J. torguilla});
-- so called from its habit of turning the neck around in
different directions. Called also {cuckoo's mate},
{snakebird}, {summer bird}, {tonguebird}, and
{writheneck}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
wryneck
n 1: an unnatural condition in which the head leans to one side
because the neck muscles on that side are contracted
[syn: {torticollis}]
2: Old World woodpecker with a peculiar habit of twisting the
neck
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