Meaning: neck

Illustrative Context

He put his hand on his neck.

Target Sense

• The most generic term for the neck as a part of the human body.
• In many languages the same basic term is also applicable to the necks of animals. Avoid terms specific to other animals, however, and which are not the default word for the human neck.
• If (but only if) a language has no generic term, but only terms specific to either just the front or just the back of the neck, then select the latter.
• Avoid narrower terms that refer to what are internal parts of the body that run through the neck. That is, avoid terms for throat and spine, for example.
• The target sense is the literal, physical body part. Avoid other lexemes that predominantly reflect extensions to other senses, particular that of a thin connecting part, e.g. a ‘neck’ of land, of a bottle (e.g. French goulot), the collar of clothing, etc., or figurative senses such as the neck as a vulnerability. The basic lexeme for this meaning in French, for example, is thus the body part term cou, not the more figurative col.
• Avoid specifically medical terms, where different.
• See also the definitions of the separate IE-CoR meanings knee, thigh, hand and mouth.