sinew

American  

[sin-yoo] / ˈsɪn yu /

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.

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verb (used with object)

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

sinew British  

/ ˈsɪnjuː /

noun

1. anatomy another name for tendon

2. (often plural)

   1. a source of strength or power

   2. a literary word for muscle

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Other Word Forms

• sinewless
  adjective
• unsinewed
  adjective
• unsinewing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sinew

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

Explanation

The tendon that connects muscles to bone is also called sinew. The noun is also used to suggest strength and resilience, and is sometimes used as a literary term for muscle, literal or metaphorical, as in “a nation’s sinew.” Sinew derives from before 900 CE, with relatives found in the Dutch zenuw and the Old High German senawa. Our present spelling worked its way through the Old English seonowe to become the Middle English sinewe. Aside from its anatomical meaning, this word is often used to present an image of strength and power, evident in filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s statement, “I write scripts to serve as skeletons awaiting the flesh and sinew of images.”

Example Sentences

Sinew, flesh and bone appear impressively tactile, and contrasts between light and shadow are strong.

From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2019

A version of this review appears in print on February 14, 2014, on page C27 of the with the headline: Global Citizens, Bound by Soul and Sinew .

From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2014

Newspapers.—Scotland is the Sinew of the British Empire.

From Friend Mac Donald by O'Rell, Max

Membrane, Sinew, Horn--Parchment; cat-gut; membrane thread; sinews for thread; glue;; isinglass; horn, tortoise-shell and whalebone.

From The Art of Travel Shifts and Contrivances Available in Wild Countries by Galton, Francis, Sir

To conclude, what can we say in this world is profitable where Husbandry is wanting, it being the great Nerue and Sinew which houldeth together all the ioynts of a Monarchie?

From The English Husbandman The First Part: Contayning the Knowledge of the true Nature of euery Soyle within this Kingdome: how to Plow it; and the manner of the Plough, and other Instruments by Markham, Gervase

Related Words

• tendon