Wryneck

created by Webster 1913
(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) 1 C! Wed Dec 22 1999 at 4:28:25

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. Zool.

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.

 

© Webster 1913.

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