nape
Americannoun
-
napes
plural
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nape
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50
Explanation
The nape of your neck is the back of your neck. If you have a ponytail, you might enjoy feeling it brush against the nape of your neck. Your nape is the base of your neck, the spot where the back of your hair begins. A low braid or ponytail sits at the nape of a woman's neck, and a shoulder massage often includes the nape of your neck and the base of your skull. The origin of nape is uncertain, though one guess is that it came from the Old French hanap, or "goblet," a possible reference to the hollow at the nape of the neck.
Vocabulary lists containing nape
Bronx Masquerade
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The First Rule of Punk
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Red Kayak
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her long tresses are twisted in an easy crown, flowing from the crest of her forehead to the nape of her neck and signaling her noble status.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024
Her long light brown hair, streaked with gray, was pulled back into a tight ponytail at the nape of her neck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2023
The hair at the nape of the neck, which is typically shorter, kinkier and considered more difficult to style.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2023
Stroking the bird’s nape, Mr. al-Humaidi gently removed a GPS device — another safety net — and rearranged its feathers with care.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2022
Then, while I lean over the sink, my sister arcs the razor from the nape of my skull to the top of my forehead, again and again, one row at a time.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Their napes are festooned with triangular plumage as consistent as the teeth of a comb.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Dr. Sano grafted skin on rats' chests or the napes of their necks, the areas that move the most.
From Time Magazine Archive
They parted it from their foreheads to the napes of their necks and then they parted it across from ear to ear.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
No, sirs; on to the nape of that snake's neck, if snakes may be said to have napes to their necks.
From The Way of the Wild by Harry Rountree
The men threw back their black silk hats, the flowers in the women's bonnets glided to the napes of their necks.
From His Masterpiece by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
