knucklebone

American  

[nuhk-uhl-bohn] / ˈnʌk əlˌboʊn /

noun

1. (in humans) any of the bones forming a knuckle of a finger.

2. (in quadrupeds) a bone homologous with a wrist, ankle, or finger bone of humans, or its knobbed end.

---

knucklebone British  

/ ˈnʌkəlˌbəʊn /

noun

1. any bone forming part of a knuckle or knuckle joint

---

Etymology

Origin of knucklebone

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at knuckle, bone

Example Sentences

As a onetime priest, McLaughlin would have undoubtedly understood the desire to possess a relic from a venerated figure, like a saint’s knucklebone or a sliver of the true cross.

From Washington Post • Jun. 4, 2018

Temujin was born clutching a blood clot the size of a knucklebone.

From Time Magazine Archive

Also salvaged was an astragalus, which was a knucklebone of a sheep or a goat used like a die in a game called “knucklebone.”

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

But they must wait in patience yet a little longer, if even a knucklebone is to be a share.

From The Three Mulla-mulgars by De la Mare, Walter