bone

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English bon, from Old English bān; akin to Old High German & Old Norse bein bone, and perhaps to Old Irish benaid he hews Date: before 12th century 1. a. one of the hard parts of the skeleton of a vertebrate b. any of various hard animal substances or structures (as baleen or ivory) akin to or resembling bone c. the hard largely calcareous connective tissue of which the adult skeleton of most vertebrates is chiefly composed 2. a. essence, core <

cut costs to the bone

> <

a liberal to the bone

> b. the most deeply ingrained part ; heart — usually used in plural <

knew in his bones that it was wrong

> 3. plural a. (1) skeleton (2) body <

rested my weary bones

> (3) corpse <

inter a person's bones

> b. the basic design or framework (as of a play or novel) 4. matter, subject <

a bone of contention

> 5. a. plural thin bars of bone, ivory, or wood held in pairs between the fingers and used to produce musical rhythms b. a strip of material (as whalebone or steel) used to stiffen a garment (as a corset) c. plural dice 6. something that is designed to placate ; sop 7. a light beige 8. inclination 1b <

hadn't a political bone in his body — John Hersey

> 9. slang dollar • boned adjective • boneless adjective II. verb (boned; boning) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to remove the bones from <

bone a fish

> 2. to provide (a garment) with stays 3. to rub (as a boot or baseball bat) with something hard (as a piece of bone) in order to smooth the surface intransitive verb to study hard ; grind <

bone through medical school

> III. adverb Date: circa 1825 extremely, very <

bone tired

>; also totally