Mixing
“Wither” meaning in this context: “Wings sprouted from each wither - vast, black leathery wings”
Wings sprouted from each wither - vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I think wither is used as a noun word. But I can't find it's a noun in dictionaries. The only one I get is "withers" means "the highest part of a horse’s back, above its shoulders". Does this use of wither mean the same as withers?
word-usage word-meaning
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
add a comment |
Wings sprouted from each wither - vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I think wither is used as a noun word. But I can't find it's a noun in dictionaries. The only one I get is "withers" means "the highest part of a horse’s back, above its shoulders". Does this use of wither mean the same as withers?
word-usage word-meaning
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
add a comment |
Wings sprouted from each wither - vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I think wither is used as a noun word. But I can't find it's a noun in dictionaries. The only one I get is "withers" means "the highest part of a horse’s back, above its shoulders". Does this use of wither mean the same as withers?
word-usage word-meaning
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
Wings sprouted from each wither - vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I think wither is used as a noun word. But I can't find it's a noun in dictionaries. The only one I get is "withers" means "the highest part of a horse’s back, above its shoulders". Does this use of wither mean the same as withers?
word-usage word-meaning
word-usage word-meaning
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
edited Jan 28 at 10:34
CowperKettle
29.7k1094176
29.7k1094176
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
asked Jan 28 at 7:36
dandan
5,53232880
5,53232880
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
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The author used the singular form of withers:
Withers: (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.
The meaning is "wings sprouted from the withers of each horse", or "wings sprouted from each horse's back".
Formally, withers can only be used in the plural, but I guess that the author has used her writer's license to "invent" singular wither.
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
|
show 9 more comments
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The author used the singular form of withers:
Withers: (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.
The meaning is "wings sprouted from the withers of each horse", or "wings sprouted from each horse's back".
Formally, withers can only be used in the plural, but I guess that the author has used her writer's license to "invent" singular wither.
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
|
show 9 more comments
The author used the singular form of withers:
Withers: (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.
The meaning is "wings sprouted from the withers of each horse", or "wings sprouted from each horse's back".
Formally, withers can only be used in the plural, but I guess that the author has used her writer's license to "invent" singular wither.
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
|
show 9 more comments
The author used the singular form of withers:
Withers: (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.
The meaning is "wings sprouted from the withers of each horse", or "wings sprouted from each horse's back".
Formally, withers can only be used in the plural, but I guess that the author has used her writer's license to "invent" singular wither.
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
The author used the singular form of withers:
Withers: (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.
The meaning is "wings sprouted from the withers of each horse", or "wings sprouted from each horse's back".
Formally, withers can only be used in the plural, but I guess that the author has used her writer's license to "invent" singular wither.
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
edited Jan 28 at 18:40
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
answered Jan 28 at 7:39
CowperKettleCowperKettle
29.7k1094176
29.7k1094176
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
|
show 9 more comments
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
17
17
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
I don't think it's a synecdoche for horse. It could be simply a singular form of "withers" there.
– dan
Jan 28 at 8:12
3
3
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
I agree with @dan. There is only one beast involved here, with two withers.
– TonyK
Jan 28 at 10:02
2
2
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
In context, I think the author assumed "wither" was roughly synonymous with "shoulder"; the intended image is that this animal has two wings, one sprouting from each side of its back, at the withers.
– zwol
Jan 28 at 12:36
4
4
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
There are 2 problems with plurals in that sentence, because bats only have two wings... I would have written “Two vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to a giant bat sprouted from its withers.” The author knows how to spin a good tale, but she really isn’t very good language-wise.
– ColleenV♦
Jan 28 at 16:03
4
4
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
@ColleenV I actually come to the opposite conclusion: it doesn’t really matter how many wings there are per wither, but the structure of the sentence uses language very efficiently at painting a picture.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 28 at 16:59
|
show 9 more comments
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