bone
/boʊn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.47 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
Uncountable
noun
One of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, the boning, originally made of whalebone.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra."
- "No Trophee, Sword, nor Hatchment o're his bones."
- "The reason I rarely fish for Mag Bay bones with a 5-weight or 6-weight is the number of fish that can turn light stuff inside out."
- "This year thus far I have travelled to eight of our laboratories talking about quality, telling the people who work in our company that quality is the muscle and bone of our company."
- "Speakin' on the phone, for hours on end / On the bone from just listenin', and then:"
- "Let's head to the casino and roll them bones!"
Etymology
From Middle English bon, from Old English bān (“bone, tusk; the bone of a limb”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone”), from *bainaz (“straight”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Cognate with Scots bane, been, bean, bein, bain (“bone”), North Frisian bian, Biin, biinj (“bone; leg”), West Frisian bien (“bone”), Dutch been (“bone; leg”), German Low German Been, Bein (“bone”), German Bein (“leg”), German Gebein (“bones”), Swedish ben (“bone; leg”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Icelandic bein (“bone; leg”), Breton benañ (“to cut, hew”), Latin perfinēs (“break through, break into pieces, shatter”), Avestan 𐬠𐬫𐬈𐬥𐬙𐬈 (byente, “they fight, hit”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /boʊn/
- British English: /bəʊn/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Law.
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
debone
unbone
approach
cohabit
common
company
copulate
couple
engage in sex
exchange flesh
have intimate relations
have marital relations