sweeny

[ swee-nee ]

/ ˈswi ni /

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noun Veterinary Pathology.

atrophy of the shoulder muscles in horses.

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Also swin·ney

[swin-ee] /ˈswɪn i/ .

Origin of sweeny

An Americanism first recorded in 1820–30; compare dialectal German Schweine, Pennsylvania Dutch Schwinne “atrophy,” Old English swindan “to pine away, disappear”

Words nearby sweeny

Swedish mile, Swedish Nightingale, Swedish turnip, Swedish vallhund, Sweelinck, sweeny, sweep, sweep account, sweepback, sweep check, sweeper

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

How to use sweeny in a sentence

Little Sweeny says, in his Irish brogue, 'I can march twic't as fur for the seein' av her!'
Overland|John William De Forest
Around Sweeny, who garrisoned the left-hand wagon of the rearmost line, the fight was particularly noisy.
Overland|John William De Forest
Little Sweeny, finding that his mule was being crowded by an Apache's horse, uttered some indignant yelps.
Overland|John William De Forest
Sweeny instantly fired, and brought down another Apache, quite accidentally.
Overland|John William De Forest

At that short distance Sweeny would hardly have missed; and the nearest Apache, leaning forward with outspread arms, fell dead.
Overland|John William De Forest

British Dictionary definitions for sweeny

sweeny

/ (ˈswiːnɪ) /

noun

vet science a wasting of the shoulder muscles of a horse, esp as the result of a nerve injury

Word Origin for sweeny

C19: probably from German dialect Schweine emaciation, atrophy

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