How do you pronounce boneless?

The recorded pronunciation is /bˈoʊnləs/.

Where does boneless come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

boneless

/bˈoʊnləs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.75 in modern English

Syllables: bone-less
IPA: /bˈoʊnləs/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Without bones, especially as pertaining to meat or poultry prepared for eating.

adj

Without pizza crust; without pizza bones.

American usage; Humorous

adj

Lacking strength, courage, or resolve.

British usage

adj

Of a couch, cushionlike due to lacking a hard internal frame.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: boned, deboned"
"boneless chicken"
"boneless, skinless chicken"
"boneless wings"
"The packers were always originating such schemes—they had what they called "boneless hams," which were all the odds and ends of pork stuffed into casings."
"They argued over the menu. The fish was described as being 'Made From Flaky Tender Boneless Filets and the chicken as 'Delicious French Fried to a Golden Brown, Served Disjointed.'"

Etymology

From Middle English bonles, banles, from Old English bānlēas (“boneless”), from Proto-Germanic *bainalausaz, equivalent to bone + -less. Cognate with Scots baneless (“boneless”), Dutch beenloos (“boneless; legless”), German beinlos (“legless”), Swedish benlös (“boneless”), Icelandic beinlaus (“boneless”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: bonles, bānlēas, *bainalausaz
Suffix: bone

Usage

American usage
Humorous
British usage
Informal

Inflected Forms

more boneless (comparative) most boneless (superlative)

Derived Forms

bonelessly bonelessness semiboneless

Phrases

boneless lean beef trimmings

Frequently Paired Words

semiboneless skinless

Synonyms

boned deboned gutless spineless backboneless base soft bitch-ass boneless caitiff candy-assed chicken

Antonyms

unboned bone-in