Loin
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The loins, or lumbus ( : lumbi), are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. The term is used to describe the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds, such as horses, pigs, or cattle. The anatomical reference also applies to particular cuts of meat, including tenderloin or sirloin steak.
The loins, or lumbus ( : lumbi), are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. The term is used to describe the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds, such as horses, pigs, or cattle. The anatomical reference also applies to particular cuts of meat, including tenderloin or sirloin steak.
Human anatomy
In human anatomy, the term "loin" or "loins" refers to the side of the human body below the rib cage to just above the pelvis. It is frequently used to reference the general area below the ribs. The lumbar region of the spinal column is located in the loin area of the body.
Society and culture
In contemporary usage, the term appears primarily in two contexts: where loins are "girded" in preparation for a challenge, or else euphemistically referring to human genitals. In literature or poetry, to feel a "stirring" in one's loins may suggest sexual excitement. Loins may refer generally to the lower area of the body, much like the term "below the belt" derives from a belt worn at the waist. For example, the word "loincloth" is used in the Bible to refer to an item of clothing which covers the loins. The "fruit" of one's loins refers to offspring. To "gird one's loins" is literally to fasten a belt (gird) around the waist (loins). In The Golden Bough, for example, Frazer writes that, to escape back pains, "Saxon reapers in Transylvania gird their loins with the first handful of ears which they cut", thereby securing the protection of the corn spirit. In the modern age, it has become an idiom meaning to prepare oneself for action or effort, as in: Derived from this sense of the phrase, a folk etymology supposes that when the long tunic of the Ancient era was the typical garment, "girding one's loins" meant raising the lower portion of the tunic and securing it between one's legs to increase mobility for work or battle. This account has become a popular internet meme, illustrated by a six-panel cartoon published by "The Art of Manliness". However, the phrase actually means the tightening of one's garments against one's body with a belt at the waist.
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373987122 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.