What does "spavin" mean?
A bony swelling which develops in a horse's leg where the shank and splint bone meet, caused by inflammation of the cartilage connecting those bones; also, a similar swelling caused by inflammation of the hock bones.
Spavin
/ˈspævɪn/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bony swelling which develops in a horse's leg where the shank and splint bone meet, caused by inflammation of the cartilage connecting those bones; also, a similar swelling caused by inflammation of the hock bones.
- Grammar: spavin is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: arthritic lameness, cripple, hind limb lameness, hock disease.
- Useful contrasts: cure, heal, health.
- Usage evidence: [H]is horſe hip'd vvith an olde mothy ſaddle, and ſtirrops of no kindred: beſides poſſeſt vvith the glanders, and like to moſe in the chine, troubled vvith the Lampaſſe, infected vvith the faſhions, full of VVindegalls, ſped vvith Spauins, raied vvith the Yellovvs, […]
How to use "spavin"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spavin" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spavin" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A bony swelling which develops in a horse's leg where the shank and splint bone meet, caused by inflammation of the cartilage connecting those bones; also, a similar swelling caused by inflammation of the hock bones. countable
"[H]is horſe hip'd vvith an olde mothy ſaddle, and ſtirrops of no kindred: beſides poſſeſt vvith the glanders, and like to moſe in the chine, troubled vvith the Lampaſſe, infected vvith the faſhions, full of VVindegalls, ſped vvith Spauins, raied vvith the Yellovvs, […]"
- 2 The stratum of earth underneath a coal deposit. rare, transitive
- 3 a swelling of the hock joint of a horse; resulting in lameness wordnet
- 4 A disease of horses caused by this bony swelling (etymology 1 sense 1.1). uncountable
"[N]ovv the Bots, the Spauin, and the Glanders, and ſome doſen diſeaſes more, light on him, & his Moyles."
- 5 A similar disease causing a person's leg to be lame. broadly, uncountable
""As an inventor," Bob Mason suggested, "you're a howling success at shooting craps! If I were as free of spavins, ringbone, saddle-galls, and splints as you are, I'd have that nanny-goat in here, hog-tie her, flop her and let the boy help himself. Why monkey with weak imitations when you can come so close to the original.""
Verb
- 1 To cause (a horse or its leg) to have spavin (noun etymology 1 sense 1.2). rare, transitive
"Mr. Lythe had seen many horses which Mr. Field had passed as sound although they were spavined; and he does not recollect a single instance of lameness among them."
- 2 To impair or injure (someone or something). figuratively, rare, transitive
"But Ahab; oh he’s a hard driver. Look, driven one leg to death, and spavined the other for life, and now wears out bone legs by the cord."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"[H]is horſe hip'd vvith an olde mothy ſaddle, and ſtirrops of no kindred: beſides poſſeſt vvith the glanders, and like to moſe in the chine, troubled vvith the Lampaſſe, infected vvith the faſhions, full of VVindegalls, ſped vvith Spauins, raied vvith the Yellovvs, […]"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spavin"?
Common synonyms include: arthritic lameness, cripple, hind limb lameness, hock disease, hock lameness, injure.
How do you use "spavin" in a sentence?
[H]is horſe hip'd vvith an olde mothy ſaddle, and ſtirrops of no kindred: beſides poſſeſt vvith the glanders, and like to moſe in the chine, troubled vvith the Lampaſſe, infected vvith the faſhions, full of VVindegalls, ſped vvith Spauins, raied vvith the Yellovvs, […]
How do you pronounce "spavin"?
Pronounced /ˈspævɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Middle English spavein, spaveine (“swelling on horse’s leg causing lameness; disease causing lameness in horses”), from Old French espavain, a variant of esparvain, esprevain, esprevin (modern French éparvin, épervin). The further etymology is unknown; one suggestion is that it is from Frankish *sparwan (“sparrow”), though this is seen as quite tenuous. The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2
Origin unknown.