"nape of the neck," 1790, altered (by influence of scruff "crust") from scuft (1787), probably related to North Frisian skuft "back of the neck of a horse" and Dutch schoft "withers of a horse," from a common Germanic source (compare Old Norse skopt "hair of the head," Gothic skuft, Middle High German schopf, German Schopf). Another theory holds it to be a variant of scurf.
双语例句
1. He picked the dog up by the scruff of the neck.
他一把抓住狗的脖子把它拎起来。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The cat picked up her kitten by the scruff of its neck.
猫咬住幼崽的后颈把它叼了起来.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The cat picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck.
