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Added 9 October 2026

bone

/bəʊn/ noun

In Latin: os Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bone at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates.
The porous calcified substance from which bones are made.
A shade of white the color of bleached bones.

verb

Study intensively, as before an exam.
I had to bone up on my Latin verbs before the final exam
Remove the bones from.
bone the turkey before roasting it

adjective

Consisting of or made up of bone.
a bony substance

Origin

From Middle English bon, from Old English bān (“bone, tusk; the bone of a limb”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone”), from *bainaz (“straight”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Cognate with Scots bane, been, bean, bein, bain (“bone”), North Frisian bian, Biin, biinj (“bone; leg”), West Frisian bien (“bone”), Dutch been (“bone; leg”), German Low German Been, Bein (“bone”), German Bein (“leg”), German Gebein (“bones”), Swedish ben (“bone; leg”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Icelandic bein (“bone; leg”), Breton benañ (“to cut, hew”), Latin perfinēs (“break through, break into pieces, shatter”), Avestan 𐬠𐬫𐬈𐬥𐬙𐬈 (byente, “they fight, hit”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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