Seven centuries old and still etymologically orphaned — nobody knows where nape comes from, despite it naming one of the body's most vulnerable spots.
Origin uncertain, first attested in Middle English; possibly related to Old French hanap meaning goblet (from the cup-like hollow at the back of the neck) or from an unrecorded Old English word Key roots: nape (Middle English: "back of the neck (uncertain deeper origin)").
The nape of the neck is one of the most vulnerable spots on the human body — it's where executioners' axes fell and where vampires traditionally bite. Its etymology is as mysterious as its cultural associations, with no certain origin despite being a common English word for over 700 years.