skeleton
[skel-i-tn]
- Anatomy, Zoology. the bones of a human or an animal considered as a whole, together forming the framework of the body.
- any of various structures forming a rigid framework in an invertebrate.
- an emaciated person or animal.
- a supporting framework, as of a leaf, building, or ship.
- an outline, as of a literary work: the skeleton of the plot.
- something reduced to its essential parts.
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- of or relating to a skeleton.
- like or being a mere framework; reduced to the essential or minimal parts or numbers: a skeleton staff.
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- skeleton at the feast, a person or thing that casts gloom over a joyful occasion; a note or reminder of sorrow in the midst of joy.
- skeleton in the closet/cupboard,
- a family scandal that is concealed to avoid public disgrace.
- any embarrassing, shameful, or damaging secret.
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Origin of skeleton
1570–80; < New Latin < Greek: mummy, noun use of neuter of skeletós dried up, verbid of skéllein to dry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
frame, scaffolding, sketch, outline, support, framework, draft, design, cage, osteology, bonesExamples from the Web for skeleton
Contemporary Examples
That meant the talent that DJ Brinsely hired that night performed for a skeleton audience.
The identity of the skeleton remains the big question, and answers may not be forthcoming anytime soon.
Enriqueta Romero put a skeleton on the sidewalk, and helped give us Santa Muerte.
Posada used the skeleton as a way of talking about politics, commenting on life.
“He looks like half the man he was, a skeleton,” says Bogucki.
Historical Examples
The (hup)-seax has often been found in Saxon graves on the hip of the skeleton.
BeowulfUnknown
At least, we think the skeleton is mournful; the skeleton himself does not seem to think so.
Alarms and DiscursionsG. K. Chesterton
Savants say that it is the skeleton of a female, probably a young girl.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
Longfellow's Skeleton in Armor has revealed their temporary settlement.
Here is the skeleton of the Horse, and here the skeleton of the Dog.
The Present Condition of Organic NatureThomas H. Huxley
skeleton
- a hard framework consisting of inorganic material that supports and protects the soft parts of an animal's body and provides attachment for muscles: may be internal (an endoskeleton), as in vertebrates, or external( an exoskeleton), as in arthropodsSee also endoskeleton, exoskeleton
- informal a very thin emaciated person or animal
- the essential framework of any structure, such as a building or leaf, that supports or determines the shape of the rest of the structure
- an outline consisting of bare essentialsthe skeleton of a novel
- (modifier) US and Canadian reduced to a minimuma skeleton staff
- skeleton in the cupboard or US and Canadian skeleton in the closet a scandalous fact or event in the past that is kept secret
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Word Origin
C16: via New Latin from Greek: something desiccated, from skellein to dry up
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 skeleton
n.
1570s, from Modern Latin sceleton "bones, bony framework of the body," from Greek skeleton soma "dried-up body, mummy, skeleton," from neuter of skeletos "dried-up" (also, as a noun, "dried body, mummy"), from skellein "dry up, make dry, parch," from PIE root *skele- "to parch, wither" (see sclero-).
Skelton was an early variant form. The noun use of Greek skeletos passed into Late Latin (sceletus), hence French squelette and rare English skelet (1560s), Spanish esqueleto, Italian scheletro. The meaning "bare outline" is first recorded c.1600; hence skeleton crew (1778), skeleton key, etc. Phrase skeleton in the closet "source of secret shame to a person or family" is from 1812.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
skeleton
(skĕl′ĭ-tn)- The internal structure composed of bone and cartilage that protects and supports the soft organs, tissues, and other parts of a vertebrate organism; endoskeleton.
- All the bones of the body taken collectively.
- The exoskeleton.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
skeleton
[skĕl′ĭ-tn]
- The internal structure of vertebrate animals, composed of bone or cartilage, that supports the body, serves as a framework for the attachment of muscles, and protects the vital organs and associated structures.
- A hard protective covering or supporting structure of invertebrate animals. See also endoskeleton exoskeleton.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.