Nuca

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The back part of the neck located at the base of the skull; the region connecting the head to the upper spine; the area behind the cervical vertebrae
2. The anatomical section behind the head where the neck joints begin; the rear neck area providing support between the head and torso; the upper neck region adjacent to the skull
3. The posterior upper neck zone beneath the skull; the back neck area linking the head with the shoulders; the cervical area at the nape of the neck

Etymology: The back of the neck was once named for the spine's core. The word traces to Medieval Latin "nucha", which was borrowed from Arabic "nukhāʿ", meaning the marrow of the spinal cord. Over the centuries the sense moved outward from the spinal column to the nape it sits beneath, so a word for something inside the body came to name a part of the outside. The shift is easy to follow once you picture the anatomy. The spinal cord runs up through the neck, and the surface of the neck directly above it is the part a speaker would point to. Dictionaries and medical writers kept the link, which is why the related adjective "nuchal" still describes things relating to the back of the neck.

Synonyms: nape, back of the neck