Acnestis (pronounced ak-nees-tis)
(1) In zoology, the area of skin on the part of the back between the shoulder blades and the loins which an animal cannot reach to scratch.
(2) By extension, in humans, much the same thing.
1700s: From the Late Latin acnestis, the from Koine Greek ἄκνηστις (áknēstis) (spine), from κνῆστις (knêstis) (spine, cheese-grater). There are theories it may have been as construct of ἀ- (a-) + -κναίειν (-knaíein) (grate, scrape, scratch) (only attested in compounds) or from an incorrect segmentation of κατὰ κνῆστιν (katà knêstin) (on the spine) (based on translations of Homer’s Odyssey), ultimately from the primitive Indo-European kneh. Acnestis is a noun; the noun plural is acnestises.
Based on the earliest known texts in which the word appears, it was defined as: “That part of the spine of the back, which reaches from the metaphrenon, [then used to describe the areas between the shoulder blades] and the loins” and use was limited only to “those quadrupeds unable to reach it to scratch”. The word has been used figuratively of political problems which are persistent & troubling yet we seem to lack the means to solve; they remain thus intractable: “In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can't reach to scratch ourselves. It's irritating. It's annoying. It's left us reaching and spinning around in circles.” (A Wish List to Soothe Our Collective Itch, New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5 August 2008.
It’s a linguistic curiosity that few dictionaries bother to list acnestis yet “back scratchers” seem to have been part of the domestic inventory of humans for about as long as the reliable archaeological record extends. The conscientious Oxford English Dictionary (OED) includes an entry while noting it is “rare in genuine use” and that’s presumably always been the case even among zoologists. It’s another of those words which has gained a (sort-of) niche in the internet age as lists of strange, obscure or unusual words have proliferated. However, if acnestis never became a fashionable word, the ongoing popularity of back-scratchers (whether designed for the purpose or improvised from whatever fell to hand) confirms the condition remains endemic and in one episode of the the television cartoon series The Simpsons, Mr Burns (evil owner of the nuclear power-plant) lamented that because of an act of embezzlement by Homer Simpson (who needed the money for a proprietary baldness cure), he couldn’t afford to buy “the ivory back-scratcher” he desired.
It’s thought to have been crafted in Bidar, India using a method called “bidri”, a metal-working technique unique to India in which objects were fabricated from an alloy (95% zinc; 5% copper), colored a rich matt black and inlaid with silver. The name Bidri is from the Deccani city of Bidar where the process is thought to have originated. The back-scratcher has jeweled mounts while the be-ringed hand and the Makara (from the Sanskrit मकर and Romanized as Makara, a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology which, in Hindu astrology, is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn) head unscrews to reveal sharp blades. During the nineteenth century, it was exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries and at the Archaeological Society and the unusual nature of the design induced lively debates about its function. There was speculation it may have been a pointer used with holy manuscripts but most have concluded it was a back-scratcher for some rich or eminent person.
It’s now on permanent exhibition at the British Museum and the institution provides curatorial notes: “The object was dis-assembled (each terminal unscrewed to reveal a short flat pointed tool (dragon head terminal) and a longer chamfered blade (hand terminal). The steel tool and blade were cleaned with acetone. The object overall was cleaned using cotton wool swabs dipped in Silvo. Cotton wool swabs dampened in White Spirit and then acetone were used to remove any traces of Silvo and to complete cleaning and degreasing of the surface. Some areas of firestain remain”. In the periodic conservation cleaning, the method uses Silvo copper polish, acetone propan-1-one & dimethyl ketone, white spirit composition & petroleum distillate.
Bear solves acnestis issue.
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