Withers Definition
(veterinary medicine) The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height.
A surname.
Origin of Withers
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1580, from Old English dialectical wiðer (“against") +"Ž -s; see with. So-named because the part of the horse that pushes against a load. Compare German Widerrist (“withers"), from wider (“against") + Rist (“wrist").
From Wiktionary
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Possibly from obsolete wither- against (from the strain exerted on them when a horse draws a load) from Middle English from Old English wi- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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