sinew

[ sin-yoo ]

noun

1. a tendon.
2. Often sinews. the source of strength, power, or vigor:

   the sinews of the nation.

3. strength; power; resilience:

   a man of great moral sinew.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with sinews; strengthen, as by sinews.

sinew

/ ˈsɪnjuː /

noun

1. See tendon
   anatomy another name for tendon
2. often plural
   1. a source of strength or power
   2. a literary word for muscle

Derived Forms

• ˈsinewless, adjective

Other Words From

• sinew·less adjective
• un·sinewed adjective
• un·sinew·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sinew¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English sinu (nominative), sinuwe (genitive); cognate with Dutch zenuw, German Sehne, Old Norse sin; akin to Sanskrit snāva sinew

Word History and Origins

Origin of sinew¹

Old English sionu; related to Old Norse sin, Old Saxon sinewa, Old High German senawa sinew, Lettish pasainis string

Example Sentences

Its frame is still thick with sinew, and there’s some kind of membrane around its chest cavity, which lights up.

From Washington Post

But I personally started to feel disrespected, that that caused me—because of my heart, my sinew—to overreact.

From The Daily Beast

The butcher sawed excruciatingly slowly through bone and sinew.

From The Daily Beast

For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy forehead as brass.

From Project Gutenberg

These arrow-heads have generally a shoulder where the arrow was set into the shaft, there to be bound tightly with sinew or fiber.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the nerve that accompanies the sinew, and Howell Gruffydd now receives and despatches telegrams.

From Project Gutenberg

The diaphragm is peculiar in that it is somewhat circular in shape and is more or less tendinous or sinew-like in the middle.

From Project Gutenberg

She roused all her energies; strained every sinew, and put forth all her remaining strength.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• tendon