What does wryneck mean?

Definitions for wryneck
ˈraɪˌnɛkwry·neck

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word wryneck.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. torticollis, wrynecknoun

    an unnatural condition in which the head leans to one side because the neck muscles on that side are contracted

  2. wrynecknoun

    Old World woodpecker with a peculiar habit of twisting the neck

GCIDE

  1. Wrynecknoun

    a person suffering from torticollis.

  2. Wrynecknoun

    (Zool.) Any one of several species of Old World birds of the genus Jynx or subfamily Jynginae, allied to the woodpeckers; especially, the common European species (Jynx torguilla); -- so called from its habit of turning the neck around in different directions. Called also cuckoo's mate, snakebird, summer bird, tonguebird, and writheneck.

Wiktionary

  1. wrynecknoun

    Either of two small woodpeckers, Jynx torquilla and Jynx ruficollis, of the Old World that can turn their heads almost 180 degrees.

  2. wrynecknoun

    A twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck is drawn to one side by a rigid contraction of one of the muscles; torticollis.

Wikipedia

  1. Wryneck

    The wrynecks (genus Jynx) are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck. These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180°. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display. It has occasionally been called "snake-bird" for that reason.Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues, which they use to extract their insect prey, and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward and two backwards,but they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk. Wryneck's (Jynginae) sexes are similar. Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey is ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They reuse woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters. The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The adult moults rapidly between July and September, although some moult continues in its winter quarters. The voice is a nasal woodpecker-like call. Its sound is described as a repetition of the sounds que, que, que, many times in succession, rapid at first, but gradually slowing and in a continually falling key. This is only heard during a few weeks of its stay in Europe.

ChatGPT

  1. wryneck

    Wryneck is a medical condition where the neck is twisted and the head is tilted to one side, often caused by dystonia, a neurological muscular disorder. It may also refer to any abnormal twisting of the neck. In addition, wryneck is also used to refer to certain species of birds in the woodpecker family, known for their ability to turn their heads in a distinctive manner.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Wrynecknoun

    a twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck is drawn to one side by a rigid contraction of one of the muscles of the neck; torticollis

  2. Wrynecknoun

    any one of several species of Old World birds of the genus Jynx, allied to the woodpeckers; especially, the common European species (J. torguilla); -- so called from its habit of turning the neck around in different directions. Called also cuckoo's mate, snakebird, summer bird, tonguebird, and writheneck

Wikidata

  1. Wryneck

    The wrynecks are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards. However, they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk. Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey is ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters. The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The voice is a nasal woodpecker-like call. These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display. This odd behaviour led to their use in witchcraft, hence to put a "jinx" on someone. There are two species: ⁕Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of wryneck in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of wryneck in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9


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"wryneck." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/wryneck>.

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