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

Red cradle of the night, In you The dusky child Sleeps fast till his might Shall be piled Sinew on sinew.

From The Tempers by Williams, William Carlos

Sinew, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone.

From A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery. With a Short Explanation of Some of the Principal Natural Phenomena. For the Use of Schools and Families. Enlarged and Revised Edition. by Anonymous

According to the Rocky Mountain Indian, it is called the Sinew River.

From Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793 Vol. II by Mackenzie, Alexander

Related Words

• tendon