acnestis

Meaning

Noun

• The part of an animal's skin that it cannot reach to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades.

Origin

• From Late Latin acnestis, from Koine Greek ἄκνηστις ("spine"), from κνῆστις, or from ἀ- + -κναίειν (only attested in compounds), or from incorrect segmentation of κατὰ κνῆστιν (see Homer, Odyssey 10.161), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kneh₂-.