skeleton

Meaning

Noun

1. The system that provides support to an organism, internal and made up of bones and cartilage in vertebrates, external in some other animals.
2. An anthropomorphic representation of a skeleton.
3. (figuratively) A very thin person.
4. (figuratively) The central core of something that gives shape to the entire structure.
5. A frame that provides support to a building or other construction.
6. A client-helper procedure that communicates with a stub.
7. The vertices and edges of a polyhedron, taken collectively.
8. A very thin form of light-faced type.
9. (attributive, especially) A minimum or bare essentials.
10. The network of veins in a leaf.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, idiomatic) Clipping of skeleton in the closet (“a shameful secret”).

Verb

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

Synonyms

frame

framework

bone

🦴

bones

body

skull

💀

skeletal frame

skeletal system

death

💀

fuselage

hull

backbone

systema skeletale

structure

outline

underframe

skeleton in the closet

skeleton in the cupboard

build

carcass

airframe

trunk

undercarriage

vampire

🧛

bodily structure

very thin

body structure

atomy

design

dead animal

anatomical structure

complex body part

stem

bald head

bare bones

bod

casing

chassis

corpus

dead person

draft

exoskeleton

log

marrow

pit

scull

seed

shell

🐚

shinbone

sick

🤢

Translations

squelette

Skelett

scheletro

esqueleto

Gerippe

esqueleto

skelet

geraamte

σκελετός

esquelet

iskelet

ossatura

gebeente

Knochengerüst

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈskɛlətən/

Etymology

Cognate with Ancient Greek: σκληρός

In summary

From New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).