swayback

[ swey-bak ]

/ ˈsweɪˌbæk /

Veterinary Pathology

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noun

an excessive downward curvature of the spinal column in the dorsal region, especially of horses.

adjective

swaybacked.

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showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Origin of swayback

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; sway + back¹

Words nearby swayback

Swatow, swats, swatter, S wave, sway, swayback, swaybacked, sway bar, swayed, Swaz., Swazi

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

How to use swayback in a sentence

A man well advanced in years dismounted from a swayback horse at the gate, threw a plow point on the ground and came forward.
Up Terrapin River|Opie P. Read
So I arose and deposited myself again and again on that old swayback but frolicsome wreck without waking.
A Guest at the Ludlow and Other Stories|Edgar Wilson (Bill) Nye
It was a nuisance to have to keep an eye on the vicious heels of Baldy, the swayback gelding at his left—that was all.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 6, October, 1908|Various

British Dictionary definitions for swayback

sway-back

noun

vet science an abnormal sagging or concavity of the spine in older horses

a paralytic disease of new-born and young lambs caused by demyelination of the central nervous system due to copper deficiency

Derived forms of sway-back

sway-backed, adjective

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