Skeleton

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• sceleton

Origin

From Ancient Greek σκελετός (skeletos, "dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy"), from σκελλώ (skellō, "dry, dry up, make dry, parch"), from Proto-Indo-European *skele- "to parch, whither;" compare Greek Σκληρός "hard".

Full definition of skeleton

Noun

1. (anatomy) The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.
• 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, ,At the foot of a pretty big pine, and involved in a green creeper, which had even partly lifted some of the smaller bones, a human skeleton lay, with a few shreds of clothing, on the ground.
2. A frame that provides support to a building or other construction.
3. (figuratively) A very thin person.She lost so much weight while she was ill that she became a skeleton.
4. (From the sled used, which originally was a bare frame, like a skeleton.) A type of tobogganing in which competitors lie face down, and descend head first (compare luge). See
5. (computing) A client-helper procedure that communicates with a stub.RMI Nomenclature: in RMI, the client helper is a 'stub' and the service helper is a 'skeleton'.
6. (geometry) The vertices and edges of a polyhedron, taken collectively.
7. An anthropomorphic representation of a skeleton. SeeShe dressed up as a skeleton for Halloween.
8. (figuratively) The central core of something that gives shape to the entire structure.The skeleton of the organisation is essentially the same as it was ten years ago, but many new faces have come and gone.

Synonyms

• (anatomy) ottomy obsolete
• (type of tobogganing) skeleton tobogganing
• (central core giving shape to something) backbone

Antonyms

• (computing) stub

Derived terms

• skeletal
• skeletally

Related terms

• endoskeleton
• exoskeleton
• hydrostatic skeleton
• skeleton bill
• skeleton crew
• skeleton in the closet, skeleton in the cupboard
• skeleton key
• skeleton leaf
• skeleton proof
• skeleton regiment
• skeleton shrimp
• skeleton staff

Verb

1. (archaic) to reduce to a skeleton; to skin; to skeletonize
2. (archaic) to minimize----