спинђ back, spine

back
Ћн нёс на спинљ тяжёлый рюкзђк. He had a heavy backpack on his back.
spine
Кћшка зашипљла и вІгнула спќну. The cat hissed and arched its spine.

Semantics

This entry is concerned with the use of the word спинђ denoting the back of humans and animals. No specific words or expressions exist for the back of animals. Common sense will dictate which of the expressions in this entry can or cannot be used to refer to animals.

Morphology

спинђ ES ASg. спќну; f.in.noun
NB Irregular in phrases зђ спину; нђ спину [за спќну and на спќну are also possible] "onto one's back, behind one's back," etc.

Use of prepositions: со vs. с

The variant со rather than с is used with the word спинђ.

Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose back it is
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Спинђ её сќльно нІла. Her back ached badly.
Спинђ Пљти былђ чёрная от загђра. Petya's back was brown from the sun.
NB When the word спинђ functions as a subject and does not have a descriptive modifier, the construction спинђ у + Genitive is often preferred to (a) and (b), above:
Спинђ у неё сќльно нІла. Her back ached badly.

Lexical Relationships

Synonyms

гћрб Colloquial; хребљт Colloquial back

Diminutives

спќнка back

Augmentatives

спинќща not Common back

Syntactic derivatives

спиннћй spinal
спиннІе позвонкќ spinal vertebrae
спиннћй мћзг spinal cord
спиннћй хребљт spinal column

Parts

лопђтки shoulder blades
позвонћчник spine, backbone, spinal column
пояснќца small of the back; lower back
Appearance, conditions, and sensations

Size and shape

ширћкая спинђ a broad back
џзкая спинђ a narrow back
длќнная спинђ a long back
корћткая спинђ a short back
жќрная спинђ a flabby back
NB The adjectives тћлстая "fat" and пћлная "plump" are not used with спќна.
хџдая спинђ a bony back
крџглая спинђ a rounded back
квадрђтная спинђ a squarish back
прямђя спинђ a straight back
сутџлая спинђ a stooped back
сутџлый stooped, round-shouldered
горбђтая спинђ a humped back
горбђтый hunchbacked
сгћрбленная спинђ a crooked back
сгћрбленный hunchbacked
вћгнутая спинђ a concave back

Other visible properties

бљлая спинђ a white back
смџглая спинђ an olive-skinned back
загорљлая спинђ a tanned back
чёрная от загђраg спинђ a back brown from the sun
глђдкая спинђ a smooth back
мускулќстая спинђ a muscular back
гћлая спинђ a bare back

Strength

мћщная спинђ; могџчая спинђ a powerful back
крљпкая спинђ a strong back
слђбая спинђ a weak back

Sensations; medical conditions and their treatment; sustaining injuries

пробегђть/пробежђть: у Ng мурђшкиn пробежђли по спинљd N got the creeps
проходќть/пройтќ: у Ng морћзn (or ознћбn) прошёл по спинљd a chill ran down N's spine
NB The above phrases express fear, horror, or shock, including the shock from aesthetic impressions.
болљть/заболљть [Pf-begin]: у Ng спќнаn болќт N's back hurts
нІть/занІть [Pf-begin]: у Ng спќнаn нћет N's back aches
радикулќт sciatica
разогнџть [no Impf.]: Nn не мћжет разогнџть спќнуa;
не мћчь разогнџться [no Impf.] 		N can't straighten up
терљть/потерљть [Pf-awhile] Nd спќнуa;
растирђть/растерљть Nd спќнуa 		to rub N's back
расшибђть/расшибќть (себљd) спќнуa Colloquial to hurt one's back by hitting it against something
Ћн упђл и расшќб себљ спќну. He fell and hurt his back.
ломђть/сломђть Nd/(себљd) спќнуa to break N's/one's back
Ћй, тІ сломђешь мнљ спќну! Ouch! You'll break my back!

Movements and positions

сгибђть/согнџть спќнуa to bend one's back
разгибђть/разогнџть спќнуa to straighten up, stretch out
Вљсь дљнь ї провёл за столћм. Вљчером разгибђю спќну, выхожџ из кабинљта, и вќжу... I worked at my desk all day. At the end of the day I straightened up, walked out of the study, and saw...
сутџлиться/ссутџлиться;
гћрбиться/сгћрбиться 		to hunch over
выпрямлїть/вІпрямить спќнуa to straighten up
согбљнная спинђ Bookish a bent back
прогибђть/прогнџть спќнуa to bend over backwards
NB The above expression is used to describe a motion performed during exercises, gymnastics, etc.
выгибђть/вІгнуть спќнуa (дугћйi) to arch one's spine
NB The above expression is used only in reference to animals.
Кћшка зашипљла и вІгнула спќну. The cat hissed and arched its spine.
поворђчиваться/повернџться к Nd спинћйi;
становќться/стђть к Nd спинћйi;
стоїть/встђть [Pf-begin] к Nd спинћйi 		to turn away from N, to stand with one's back toward N
Ћн повернџлся (or стђл, or встђл) спинћй к свљту (or к своемџ собесљднику, etc.). He turned (or stood with) his back to the light (or with his back to the man he was talking to, etc.)
NB The expression повернџться к N спинћй also has the figurative meaning "to turn one's back on N," i.e. to abandon N in a difficult situation.
прислонїться/прислонќться к Nd спинћйi to lean one's back against N
лежђть/полежђть [Pf-awhile] спинћйi к Nd to lie with one's back toward N
Кђтя лежђла спинћй к стенљ. Katya lay with her back to the wall.
ложќться/лљчь спинћйi к Nd to lie down with one's back toward N, to turn one's back toward N
сидљть/посидљть [Pf-awhile] спинћйi к Nd to sit with one's back to N
садќться/сљсть спинћйi к Nd to sit down with one's back to N, to turn one's back toward N
лежђть/полежђть [Pf-awhile] на спинљp to lie on one's back
ложќться/лљчь нђ спинуa to lie down on one's back
переворђчиваться/перевернџться на спќнуa to turn onto one's back
пђдать/упђсть на спќнуa (or нђ спинуa) to fall onto one's back
плђвать/поплђвать [Pf-awhile] на спинљp to swim on one's back, to do the backstroke
Ћн хорошћ плђвает на спинљ. He does the backstroke well.
подставлїть/подстђвить спќнуa под Na to put one's back under N; to expose one's back to N
NB N = удђры "blows," or a noun which refers to a burden, e.g. мешћк "bag," їщик "box," etc.
заклђдывать/заложќть рџкиa за спќнуa (or зђ спинуa) to put one's hands behind one's back
бІть [no Pf.] свїзаны: у Ng рџкиn свїзаны за спинћйi N has his hands tied behind his back

Other expressions

вздувђться/вздџться: Nn (пузырёмi) вздувђется на спинљp N billows on one's back
NB N denotes clothing:
От бІстрой ездІ егћ крђсная рубђха пузырём вздувђлась на спинљ [А. Чљхов, Стљпь] He was riding so fast his red shirt billowed on his back. [A. Chekhov, "The Steppe"]
носќть [no Pf.] на спинљp Na;
нестќ/понестќ [Pf-begin] на спинљp Na 		to carry N on one's back
NB N = a noun referring to a burden, e.g. рюкзђк "a backpack," ребёнок "a child":
Ћн нёс на спинљ тяжёлый рюкзђк. He carried a heavy backpack on his back.
за спинћйi behind one; on one's back
За егћ спинћй стоїл большћй шкђф. There was a large cabinet behind him.
За спинћй у негћ висљла винтћвка. He had a rifle on his back.
из-за спинІg from behind someone
Из-за егћ спинІ вІшла дљвочка. A little girl came out from behind him.

Sample texts

Впђдина мољй ладћни ещё былђ полнђ глђдкого, кђк слонћвая кћсть, ощущљния вћгнутой по-дљтски спинІ Лолќты... [В. Набћков, Лолќта] The hollow of my hand was still ivory-full of Lolita — full of the feel of her pre-adolescently incurved back... [V. Nabokov, Lolita]
Ї смотрљл на егћ сединџ, на глубћкие морщќны давнћ небрќтого лицђ, на сгћрбленную спќну. [А. Пџшкин, Станцићнный смотрќтель] I looked at his grey hair, at the deep wrinkles in his long-unshaven face, at his curved spine. [A. Pushkin, "The Postmaster"]
Перед нђми, заложќв рџки зђ спину, нагнџв гћлову, расхђживал ћчень серьёзный Станислђв Пќште. [Стругђцкие, Далёкая рђдуга] In front of us, his hands folded behind his back, his head bent, a very serious Stanislav Pishte walked back and forth. [A. and B. Strugatskiy, The Distant Rainbow]