chine

[chahyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun British Dialect.

a ravine formed in rock by the action of running water.

Origin of chine

before 900; Middle English; Old English cinu crevice, fissure; cognate with Middle Dutch kene; compare Old English cīnan to gape, crack open

chine

[chahyn]

noun

the backbone or spine, especially of an animal.

the whole or a piece of the backbone of an animal with adjoining parts, cut for cooking.

a ridge or crest, as of land.

Nautical.

an angular intersection of the sides and bottom of a vessel.
a longitudinal member running behind this.

verb (used with object), chined, chin·ing.

(in butchering) to sever the backbone of.

Origin of chine

1250–1300; Middle English eschine < Old French eschine < Germanic. See shin¹

chine

[chahyn]

noun

chime².

chiné

[shee-ney]

adjective

noting or pertaining to a fabric having a variegated pattern produced by warp threads that have been dyed, printed, or painted before weaving.

Origin of chiné

1850–55; < French, past participle of chiner, verbal derivative of Chine China

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chine

rim, hill, vertebrae, bone, ridge, shave, slice, rip, slash, carve, curtail, divide, corrugation, elevation, parapet, ruck, spine, backbone, pole, crease

Examples from the Web for chine

Historical Examples of chine

A chine or saddle, from two hours and a half, to three hours.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Take care also to cut out the pipe that runs along the chine of a loin of veal, the same as in beef, to hinder it from tainting.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
Ristofalo bade him roll the barrel on its chine to the rear and stand it by the hydrant.
Dr. Sevier
George W. Cable
Caius went back to the shore to get the boat that lay at the foot of the chine.
The Mermaid
Lily Dougall
If you have a mind to feed there is a chine Of beef, well season'd.
The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 4, April 1810
Various

British Dictionary definitions for chine

chine

noun

the backbone

the backbone of an animal with adjoining meat, cut for cooking

a ridge or crest of land

(in some boats) a corner-like intersection where the bottom meets the side

verb

(tr) to cut (meat) along or across the backbone

Word Origin for chine

C14: from Old French eschine, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German scina needle, shinbone; see shin 1

chine

noun

another word for chime 2

chine

noun

Southern English dialect a deep fissure in the wall of a cliff

Word Origin for chine

Old English cīnan to crack

chiné

adjective

textiles having a mottled pattern

Word Origin for chiné

C19: from French chiner to make in the Chinese fashion, from Chine China

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chine

adj.

"in Chinese fashion," French Chiné, past participle of chiner "to color in Chinese fashion," from Chine "China" (see China).