spavin

American  

[spav-in] / ˈspæv ɪn /

noun

Veterinary Pathology.

1. 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.

2. an excrescence or enlargement so formed.

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spavin British  

/ ˈspævɪn /

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of spavin

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spavin

For 19 years he tended the ring bone and spavin of Brooklyn carriage horses, got in with the politically right people.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a case of spavin the cure is not effected by restoring the diseased parts to their natural condition, but by uniting the bones and obliterating the joints.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

This bunch differs from bog spavin in that it is hard, while bog spavin is soft.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

Nothing like having a horse that may develop spavin, ring bone or heaves on the road any min246ute, or a wagon that may drop all four wheels at once and break every spring.

From Dick Hamilton's Fortune The Stirring Doings of a Millionaire's Son by Howard R. Garis

Darn me coarse! if they can't gi' 'un a blood spavin in a squirt of tobacco!

From Confessions Of Con Cregan An Irish Gil Blas by Charles James Lever

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