Meaning of acnestis | Babel Free

Definitions

The section of an animal's skin that it cannot reach in order to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades.

Examples

“Acneſtis, from α priv. and κναειν to ſcratch. That part of the ſpine of the back, which reaches from the metaphrenon, which is the part betwixt the ſhoulder blades, to the loins. This part ſeems to have been originally called ſo in quadrupeds only, becauſe they cannot reach it to ſcratch.”

“ACNÉSTIS (ακνηςις, from α neg. and κναω to ſcratch). That part of the ſpine between the ſhoulder-blades, and which extends to the loins. It is ſo called from the difficulty there is to reach and ſcratch it.”

“That spot known to crossword solvers as the acnestis.”

“Excoriations are typically linear and occur where the patient can reach with his hands. […] The middle of the back is typically spared, although with a back scratcher, this rule loses value. This pattern of sparing has been called the reverse butterfly sign; the Greek word for the area that cannot be reached is acnestis.”

“In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can't reach to scratch ourselves. It's irritating. It's annoying. It's left us reaching and spinning around in circles.”

“I nudged Winston [a cat] to one side of his chair and sat down beside him. I scratched the spot between his shoulders, the acnestis that animals can't scratch by themselves, and he looked up at me and smiled.”

“Acnestis (n.) On an animal, the point of the back that lies between the shoulders and the lower back, which cannot be reached to be scratched. I am very glad I found this word early in my reading of the OED – the fact that there existed a word for this thing which previously I had been sure lacked a name was such a delight to me that suddenly the whole idea of reading the dictionary seemed utterly reasonable.”

CEFR level