scuft

nape of the neck

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A mother cat gently grips the loose skin at the back of her kitten’s neck, with the nape clearly exposed in side view.

noun

scruff

SKRUHF/skrʌf/

The back of the neck, especially where it can be grasped.

Etymology

scruffEnglishnape of the neck

Provincial scuft named the nape, preserving the same bodily meaning as scruff. Its obscure ancestry probably connects it with words for the back of a horse’s neck or its withers.

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Related word entries

scruff