dorsum

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun the posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine
noun the back of the body of a vertebrate or any analogous surface (as the upper or outer surface of an organ or appendage or part)

Learned borrowing from Latin dorsum (“the back”).

There is beginning rigor mortis, minimal dependent livor mortis of the dorsum, and early algor mortis. — Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, United States. Warren Commission

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