spavin

[ spav-in ]

/ ˈspæv ɪn /

Save This Word!

noun Veterinary Pathology.

a disease of the hock joint of horses in which enlargement occurs because of collected fluids (bog spavin ), bony growth (bone spavin ), or distention of the veins (blood spavin ).

an excrescence or enlargement so formed.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of spavin

1400–50; late Middle English spaveyne<Old French (e)spavain, esparvain swelling < ?

Words nearby spavin

spatterdock, spatula, spatulate, spätzle, spaulder, spavin, spavined, spawn, spay, spaz, spaza shop

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use spavin in a sentence

Examples of such a condition are to be found in bog-spavin, in hygroma of the stifle, and sometimes in the fetlock.
Diseases of the Horse's Foot|Harry Caulton Reeks
He must know th' difference bechune silo an' insilage, how to wean a bull calf, an' th' best way to cure a spavin.
Mr. Dooley: In the Hearts of His Countrymen|Finley Peter Dunne
A lady further up on a grey, obviously suffering from spavin, was sailing over like a two-year old.
Fanny Goes to War|Pat Beauchamp
Spavin, ringbone, splints, quittor and many other anomalous conditions may all be observed from certain proper angles.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix

Fibrous tumors are sometimes located in the inferior part of the medial side of the tarsus—exactly over the seat of bone-spavin.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix

British Dictionary definitions for spavin

spavin

/ (ˈspævɪn) /

noun

vet science enlargement of the hock of a horse by a bony growth (bony spavin) or fluid accumulation in the joint (bog spavin), usually caused by inflammation or injury, and often resulting in lameness

Word Origin for spavin

C15: from Old French espavin, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012