Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for nape on Thesaurus.com the back of the neck (usually used in the phrase nape of the neck ). Show More
Origin of nape Middle English word dating back to 1300–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for nape Contemporary Examples of nape His black hair sweeps back from the crest of his high forehead and laps at the nape of his neck; his lips are pursed.
His gray hair curls at the nape , but he is as graceful as he was in 1949, his timing as immaculate.
Oref—The homefront, although literally, the back of the neck, the nape .
From there, the pain shoots out toward my temple and down to the nape of my neck.
Historical Examples of nape She could hear his light breathing, she could discern his profile, then the nape of his neck.
But Gilles took him by the nape of his dirty neck and haled him back into the room.
Oliver caught him by the nape of his neck, spun him round, and flung him into the arms of Jasper.
Pull the nape cord taut and tie it to neck-wire in roof of mouth.
For the pain in the head, a blister to the nape of the neck.
British Dictionary definitions for nape the back of the neck Related adjective: nuchal Show More
Word Origin for nape C13: of unknown origin
(tr) US military slang to attack with napalm Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for nape n. "back of the neck," c.1300, of unknown origin, perhaps from Old French hanap "a goblet," in reference to the hollow at the base of the skull. "The entire absence of forms with initial k makes it difficult to connect the word with the apparently synonymous OFris (hals) knap [OED].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
