sway-back

noun

1. vet science an abnormal sagging or concavity of the spine in older horses
2. a paralytic disease of new-born and young lambs caused by demyelination of the central nervous system due to copper deficiency

Derived Forms

• ˈsway-ˌbacked, adjective

Example Sentences

Physical markers include a sway-back, a comparatively large skull, short but wide hands and feet, and hip joints that swing when I walk.

From Salon

Its spring show, “Ancient Chinese Bronzes,” begins with a fanfare of honey-gold and green in the form a large ritual food vessel from the late 11th to 10th century B.C., then moves to a small tripod container surmounted by a sway-back tiger, and on to a fantastical bronze mask with horns, fangs and a dark green patina the color of late-winter moss.

From New York Times

A favorite female pose is the sway-back with the mons veneris thrown forward.

From Time Magazine Archive

When you see any one with pinched nostrils, a face that is narrow through the cheek bones and a low or "sway-back" nose, you see a man whose lung capacity is deficient.

From Project Gutenberg

That is why he brings his obituaries to us; that is why he does us the honour of borrowing papers from us; and that is why, on a dull afternoon, he likes to sit in the old sway-back swivel-chair and tell us his theory of the increase in the rainfall, his notion about the influence of trees upon the hot winds, his opinion of the disappearance of the grasshoppers.

From Project Gutenberg