sweeny

American

[swee-nee] / ˈswi ni /

Also swinney

noun

Veterinary Pathology.

atrophy of the shoulder muscles in horses.

sweeny British

/ ˈswiːnɪ /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

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”

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023