nucha

English

Etymology

From Middle English nucha, nuche, nuca, nuka, nuke (“spinal cord”),^[1] borrowed from Medieval Latin nucha (“spinal cord; nape of the neck”).^[2][3] Doublet of nuque.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnjuːkə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈn(j)ukə/
• Hyphenation: nu‧cha

Noun

nucha (plural nuchae)

1. (anatomy, obsolete) The spinal cord.
2. (anatomy, zoology, dated, rare) The back of the neck, the nape; of an animal: the back of the head or the portion of the body behind the head.

Alternative forms

• nuke

Derived terms

• nuchal
• nuchal ligament

References

1. “nucha, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 June 2019.
2. “nucha, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2003.
3. “nucha”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• chaun

Latin

Alternative forms

• nucra, nocra

Etymology

From either Arabic نُخَاع (nuḵāʕ, “spinal marrow”) or Arabic نُقْرَة (nuqra, “hollow of the neck”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈnu.kʰa/, [ˈnʊkʰä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈnu.ka/, [ˈnuːkä]

Noun

nucha f (genitive nuchae); first declension

1. (Medieval Latin) nape

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	nucha	nuchae
Genitive	nuchae	nuchārum
Dative	nuchae	nuchīs
Accusative	nucham	nuchās
Ablative	nuchā	nuchīs
Vocative	nucha	nuchae

Derived terms

• nuchālis

Descendants

• → Catalan: nuca
• → Middle English: nucha, nuche, nuca, nuka
  • English: nucha
• → Old French: nuche
  • Middle French: nuque, nuche
    • → English: nuque
    • French: nuque
• → Italian: nuca
• → Portuguese: nuca
• → Spanish: nuca

Further reading

• Hyrtl, Joseph (1879) Das Arabische und Hebräische in der Anatomie‎ (in German), Wien: Wilhelm Braumüller, pages 188–193