Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural The high part of the back of a horse or other quadruped, located between the shoulder blades.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The highest part of the back of a horse, between the shoulderblades and behind the root of the neck, where the mane ceases to grow: as, a horse 15 hands high at the withers.
  • noun The barbs or flukes of a harpoon; the witters: so called by British whalemen.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of horse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun veterinary medicine The part of the back of a draft animal or horse that is the highest, between the shoulder blades.
  • verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of wither.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the highest part of the back at the base of the neck of various animals especially draft animals

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly from obsolete wither-, against (from the strain exerted on them when a horse draws a load), from Middle English, from Old English; see wi- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1580, from Old English dialectical wiðer ("against") +‎ -s; see with. So-named because the part of the horse that pushes against a load. Compare German Widerrist ("withers"), from wider ("against") + Rist ("wrist").

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Our withers are unwrung." (usage note on unwrung)

    March 7, 2008

  • He gawped at rhe nag's pricked ears, large eye, dished profile, withers, mane, poll, forelock, muzzle, chin, cheek, shoulder, chest, forearm, knee, cannon, pastern, chestnut, brisket, elbow, belly, stifle, gaskin, coronet, wall of hoof, heel, fetlock, hock, thigh, buttock, dock, croup, loins, back.

    - Peter Reading, C, 1984

    July 4, 2008

  • From "Au Tombeau de Charles Fourier" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010