bone meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

bone

nounalso spelled Bone

UK /bəʊn/ · US /boʊn/

Etymology

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”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

15 senses

1A composite material consisting largely of calcium…
2Any of the components of an endoskeleton, made of this material.
3A bone of a fish; a fishbone.
4A bonefish.
5One of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame…
6One of the fragments of bone held between the fingers of…
7Anything made of bone, such as a bobbin for weaving bone lace.
8The framework of anything.
9An off-white colour, like the typical colour of bone.
10A dollar.
11The wishbone formation.
12An erect penis; a boner.
13A domino or die.
14A cannabis cigarette; a joint.
15A reward.

1

A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.

Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra.a1420, The British Museum Additional MS, 12,056, “Wounds complicated by the Dislocation of a Bone”, in Robert von Fleischhacker, editor, Lanfranc's "Science of cirurgie.", London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, translation of original by Lanfranc of Milan, published 1894, →ISBN, page 63:

2

Any of the components of an endoskeleton, made of this material.

No Trophee, Sword, nor Hatchment o're his bones.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], page 275, column 1:

3

A bone of a fish; a fishbone.

4

A bonefish.

The reason I rarely fish for Mag Bay bones with a 5-weight or 6-weight is the number of fish that can turn light stuff inside out.2019, Scott Sadil, “Tres Bocas”, in California Fly Fisher:

5

One of the rigid parts of a corset that forms its frame, the boning, originally made of whalebone.

6

One of the fragments of bone held between the fingers of the hand and rattled together to keep time to music.

7

Anything made of bone, such as a bobbin for weaving bone lace.

8

Figuratively The framework of anything.

9

An off-white colour, like the typical colour of bone.

10

US, In plural, Informal A dollar.

11

American football, Ball games, Football, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Informal The wishbone formation.

12

Slang An erect penis; a boner.

Speakin' on the phone, for hours on end / On the bone from just listenin', and then:2003, “Let Me Watch”, in Vaudeville Villain, performed by Viktor Vaughn ft. Apani B. Fly:

13

In plural, Slang A domino or die.

Let's head to the casino and roll them bones!
The Accountant had brought out already a box of dominoes, and was toying architecturally with the bones.1899 (please specify the page), Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part:

14

Slang A cannabis cigarette; a joint.

In between sets I took her outside, sat against a fence near the dumpster, and smoked a bone with her.2006, Sean Conway, Gillis Huckabee, page 140:

15

Figuratively A reward.

When I'm a good dog they sometimes throw me a bone in1979, Pink Floyd, Nobody Home:

Synonyms: os, rib, stay, doggy treat
Derived terms: 257 terms
aitch-bone, all skin and bones, anklebone, arm bone, back-bone, bad to the bone, bag of bones, bare-bones, bladebone, boneache, bone age, bone apple tea, bone-ash, bone ash, bonebed, bone black, boneblack, bone box, bone-cage, bone cancer, bone char, bone-chilling, bone china, bone collector, Bone Creek, bone-cruncher, bone-crunching, bone-crushing dog, boned, bone-deep, bone density, bonedigger, bonedog, bonedome, bone dry, bone-dry, bone earth, bone-eating snot flower worm, bone fire, bone-fire, bonefish, bone folder, bone graft, bone-grubber, bone-hard, bone hard, bonehead, bone head, boneheaded, boneheadedly, boneheadedness, bonehouse, bone-house wasp, bone hurting juice, bone idle, bone-idle, bone-in, bone in her teeth, bone in one's body, bone in the throat, bonejarring, bone lace, boneless, bonelessness, bonelet, bonelike, bone loss, bone marrow, bone mass, bone meal, bone-meal, bone mineral density, bone morphogenetic protein, bone-mouth, bone of contention, bone oil, bone-on, bone-picker, bone pointing, boner, bone ridge, bone scan, boneseed, boneseeker, bone-seeker, bone seeker, boneset, bonesetter, bonesetting, bone-shaker, boneshaker, bone-shaking, boneshaking, bone-shakingly, Bonesman, bone smashing, bone spavin, bonespo, bone spur, bone-straight, bone structure, bone tired, bone-tired, bone tissue, bone to pick, bone turquoise, bone up, boneware, Bone Wars, bone wax, bonework, boneyard, bony, breakbone, break-bones, breast bone, bred-in-the-bone, breed in the bone, brittle bone disease, broken bones, browbone, canon bone, cavalry bone, chavel-bone, cheek bone, cheek-bone, chew the meat and spit out the bones, chickenboner, chill to the bone, chinbone, close to the bone, collar-bone, collar bone, cross-bone, cross-bones, crossbones, cuboidal bone, cut to the bone, devil's bones, dog and bone, dogbone, dog bone spanner, dog bone wrench, dry as a bone, falling off the bone, flesh and bone, flesh and bones, flesh on the bones, folding-bone, folding bone, glass bone disease, God's bones, good-luck bone, greenbone, hambone, haunch-bone, have a bone in one's leg, have a bone to pick, H bone, heelbone, herring-bone, holy bone, in one's bones, intrabone, ischemic bone necrosis, Ishango bone, jaw-bone, jaw bone, jump on someone's bones, jump someone's bones, keep one's bone green, knitbone, lachrymal bone, lazy bones, like a bulldog with a bone, like a dog with a bone, Longbone, lucky-bone, make no bones about, make old bones, make one's bones, meat on the bones, membrane-bone, Murphy-Lane bone skid, Napier's bones, natch-bone, near the bone, no bones about it, nonbone, oracle bone script, Paget's disease of bone, pare to the bone, pedal bone, phantom bone disease, ploughshare bone, prone-bone, radial bone, rag and bone man, rag-and-bone man, rag-and-bone shop, rag and bone shop, rattle the bones, raven's bone, raw-head and bloody-bones, redbone, rickle of bones, rider's bone, ridge-bone, ringbone, ring-bone, romancing the bone, ruel-bone, sawbones, shackle-bone, shankbone, shank-bone, sharebone, sidebone, skin and bone, skin and bones, skull and bones, Smallbone, soaked to the bone, soaked to the bones, spadebone, speal-bone, splinter bone, spoke-bone, St. Hugh's bones, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, tail bone, tau bone, t-bone, T-bone, T-bone steak, telling bone, thighbone, throw a bone to, throw someone a bone, tickle someone's funny bone, Tilly bone, to one's bone, to one's bones, toss a bone to, toss someone a bone, to the bone, to the bones, triquetrum bone, twitter-bone, tympanic bone, underbone, what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh, whirl-bone, wishing bone, with every bone in one's body, work oneself to the bone, work one's fingers to the bone
Hypernyms: skeleton
Hyponyms: 117 terms
aitchbone, alveolar bone, armbone, auditory bone, backbone, barebone, breastbone, calf bone, cannon bone, capitate bone, carpal bone, cheekbone, chevron bone, coffin bone, collarbone, cramp bone, crazy bone, cuboid bone, cuneiform bone, cuttlebone, cuttlefish bone, dentary bone, dermal bone, dog bone, dragonbone, dry bone, earbone, elbow bone, epipubic bone, ethmoidal bone, ethmoid bone, exercise bone, featherbone, fingerbone, fishbone, footbone, forearm bone, frontal bone, funny bone, hamate bone, haunch bone, heel bone, herringbone, hip bone, huckle bone, hyoid bone, incisive bone, inferior turbinate bone, innominate bone, intermediate cuneiform bone, jawbone, keep the bones green, knucklebone, lacrimal bone, lateral cuneiform bone, legbone, lingual bone, long bone, lunate bone, malar bone, marrowbone, marsupial bone, mastoid bone, medial cuneiform bone, membrane bone, metacarpal bone, nasal bone, navicular bone, neckbone, occipital bone, oracle bone, otic bone, palatine bone, parietal bone, penile bone, penis bone, pin bone, pisiform bone, pizza bone, plate bone, pneumatic bone, point the bone, pubic bone, pull bone, pulley bone, quadrate bone, ridgebone, roofing bone, rostral bone, scaphoid bone, semilunar bone, sesamoid bone, shinbone, shoulder bone, sit bone, skullbone, soup bone, sphenoid bone, splenial bone, splint bone, squamosal bone, stirrup bone, tailbone, tarsal bone, temporal bone, tongue bone, trapezium bone, trapezoid bone, triquetral bone, turbinate bone, vomer bone, wishbone, Wormian bone, wristbone, Y bone, yellow bone, zygomatic bone

bone

adj

Etymology

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”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

1

Of an off-white colour, like the colour of bone.

bone

verb

Etymology

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”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

9 senses

1To prepare (meat, etc) by removing the bone or bones from.
2To fertilize with bone.
3To put whalebone into.
4To make level, using a particular procedure; to survey a…
5To have sexual intercourse (with).
6To perform “bone pointing”, a ritual that is intended to…
7To study.
8To polish boots to a shiny finish.
9To nag, especially for an unpaid debt.

1

To prepare (meat, etc) by removing the bone or bones from.

One of the fish stalls specialized in boning shad, and he who has never eaten a boned shad baked twenty minutes on a hot oak plank has been deprived of the most delicious morsel that the ocean yields.1949, Kenneth Lewis Roberts, I Wanted to Write, page 44:
The ballottine is made of a piece of meat, fowl, game or fish which is boned, stuffed, and rolled into the shape of a bundle. The term ballottine should strictly apply only to meat, boned and rolled, but not stuffed.1977, Prosper Montagné, Charlotte Snyder Turgeon, The New Larousse Gastronomique, page 73:

2 more examples

Then it is boned; keeping the bone in during cooking improves the flavour and enriches the meat with calcium.2009, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, A History of Food, page 379:
Other fish suited to boning through the back include small bluefish, Arctic char, steelhead salmon, salmon, small wild striped bass, hybrid striped bass, Whitefish, drum, trout, and sea trout.2011, Aliza Green, Steve Legato, The Fishmonger's Apprentice, page 38:

2

To fertilize with bone.

He cites an instance of land heavily boned 70 years ago as “still markedly luxuriant beyond any other grass land in the same district.”1859 July 9, The Economist, page 758:

3

To put whalebone into.

Having my stays very fully boned and fitted with shoulder-straps.1871, Figure-Training:

4

Civil engineering, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To make level, using a particular procedure; to survey a level line.

boning rod

5

Ambitransitive, Slang, Usually, Vulgar, Of a man To have sexual intercourse (with).

O Memmius, well and slowly did you bone me, supine, day by day, with the whole of that beam.1894, Catullus, translated by Leonard C. Smithers, The Carmina of Gaius Valerius Catullus, section 58:
We’re bonin’ on the dark blocks / Wearin’ out the shocks, wettin’ up the dashboard clock1993, “Back Seat (of My Jeep)”, in 14 Shots to the Dome, performed by LL Cool J:

4 more examples

Stash in the buildin wit this chick named Alona / From Daytona, when I was young I wants to bone her1997, “It's All About the Benjamins”, in No Way Out, performed by Puff Daddy:
We were sitting in the student union between classes, and I had just been trying to decide which one of them I was gonna bone first that night.2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 153:
[…]These cats stay rapping about cars they don't own / I am sick of rappers bragging about models they don't bone2006, “Sick of it all”, in Masta Ace (lyrics), Pariah:
When we return we'll find out which one of our six remaining contestants' dreams will be totally ruined, like your mom's reputation after I bone her face.2007, Stacey Deddo, The Elimination Special, Part II: The Elimination (Drawn Together), season 3, episode 14, spoken by The Jew Producer (James Arnold Taylor), via Comedy Central:

6

Australia, Dated, In Aboriginal culture To perform “bone pointing”, a ritual that is intended to bring illness or even death to the victim.

“You don’t know!”, Bony echoed. “You can tell me who boned me fifteen years ago on the other side of the world, and you can’t tell me who killed the white-fella in the Crater”.1962, Arthur Upfield, The Will of the Tribe, Collier Books, page 48:

7

Usually, With "up" To study.

bone up
“I know it. You do not study.” “What’s the use of boning all the time! I wasn’t cut out for it.”1896, Burt L. Standish, Frank Merriwell's Chums:

8

To polish boots to a shiny finish.

[…] the permanent boning (excessive polishing) of boots by recruits […]c. 1980, F. van Zy, SADF National Service (1979-1980), archived from the original on 22 Jun 2004:

9

To nag, especially for an unpaid debt.

Dix Handley: Don’t bone me! Cobby: Now look, I’m not boning you, Dix— Dix: Did I ever welsh? Cobby: Nobody said you did— Dix: You just boned me!1950, Asphalt Jungle:

Derived terms: bonable, bone down, bone out, boning, boning rod, debone, unbone

bone

adv

Etymology

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”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

1

Used before an adjective as an intensifier

GWF, well almost anyway, 40, bone-lonely, desperately needs a friend in Southern Maine.1979 December 22, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 18:

bone

verb

Etymology Unknown; probably related in some way to Etymology 1, above.

1

Slang To apprehend, steal.

“Did I?” said Squeers, “Well it was rather a startling thing for a stranger to come and recommend himself by saying that he knew all about you, and what your name was, and why you were living so quiet here, and what you had boned, and who you had boned it from.”1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, page 127:
[…]as long as you and I live I take it for granted that you will not suspect me of boning them. But to guard against casualties hereafter, I have asked Nicolay to write you a line saying that I have never had in my possession or custody any of the papers which you entrusted to him.1915, William Roscoe Thayer, The Life and Letters of John Hay:

2 more examples

But troll's old seat is much the same, And the bone he boned from its owner1936, J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Root of the Boot”, in Songs for the Philologists:
Therefore she wants to take results that belong to other people: she wants to bone everybody else's loaf.1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 802:

Bone

noun

Etymology A reinterpretation of its designation B-1 (B-one), which appears to spell bone.

1

Government, Military, Politics, War Slang A Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber aircraft.

bone

verb

Etymology Borrowed from French bornoyer (“to look at with one eye, to sight”), from borgne (“one-eyed”).

1

Business, Carpentry, Construction, Geography, Manufacturing, Masonry, Natural sciences, Surveying To sight along an object or set of objects to check whether they are level or in line.

Joiners, &c., bone their work with two straight edges.1846, W. M. Buchanan, A Technological Dictionary, page 151:

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