croup

Definition

The top of the rump of a horse or other quadruped.

Etymology

From Middle English croupe, from Old French croupe (“rump, body”), from Old Norse kroppr (“body, trunk, mass”), from Proto-Germanic *kruppaz (“body, mass, heap, collection, crop”), from Proto-Indo-European *grewb- (“to curve, bend, crawl”). More at crupper, doublet of croupe, group, and crop.

Example Sentences

• "So light to the croup the fair lady he swung, / So light to the saddle before her he sprung."
• "The guib [a kind of antelope] is of the mean dimensions, or four feet and a half in total length, and two and a half high at the shoulders, but rather higher at the croup."