neck
UK: nɛk | US: nɛk
n. 1. The part of the body connecting the head to the shoulders.
n. 2. A narrow or constricted part of an object (e.g., a bottle neck).
n. 3. The length of a horse's head and neck as a unit of measurement in racing.
The word "neck" traces back to Old English hnecca, meaning "the nape or back of the neck." It shares roots with Proto-Germanic hnekk- and is related to Dutch nek and German Nacken. The core idea revolves around a "narrow or connecting part," which logically extended to objects (e.g., bottle necks) and even abstract constraints (e.g., "neck of the woods"). Its simplicity as a compact Germanic word makes further morpheme division unnecessary.
She wore a scarf around her neck to keep warm.
The bottle’s neck was too narrow to pour the liquid smoothly.
The horse won by a neck in a close race.
He craned his neck to see over the crowd.
Traffic was bottlenecked at the neck of the valley.