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bony

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Etymology and origin of the English word bony

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1398 before 1398, Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus
Ultimate origin
Old English bān
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English bone
English bony
From the same root
English boner ← bone

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈbəʊni/[1]
  • US: /ˈboʊni/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English boni,[2][3] formed from English bone + -y.[4][5][6][7] The noun bone is from Old English bān, from Proto-Germanic *bainą, the source also of Old Frisian bēn, Old Norse bein and German Bein.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Consisting of bone, or of the nature of bone: before 1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus, which calls the neck bony, made of many bones and sinews.[4][2] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the adjective already described both what is made of bone and a big-boned body.[2] By the 15th century it was used of people and animals whose bones stand out, especially from thinness, which is now the commonest sense.[4][9] From 1614 it was said of meat or fish full of bones.[4] Johnson (1755) gave only "consisting of bones" and "full of bones".[10] In American mining, from 1840, bony coal is coal mixed with slate or shale; since 1874 the noun bony named such material or mine waste.[4][6] A verb bony, to harden like bone, is recorded once, in 1814.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – consisting of or resembling bone.[4][2]
  • before 1500 – of a person or animal, with prominent bones; gaunt.[4]
  • 1614 – of meat or fish, full of bones.[4]
  • 1840 – US mining, of coal, containing slate or shale.[4]
  • 1874 – noun, slaty coal or mine waste.[4] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1842.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Made of, consisting of, or resembling bone: the bony shell of a turtle.[9][6][4]
  2. Full of bones: a bony piece of carp.[9][6][4]
  3. Having prominent bones: bony knuckles.[9][6][4]
  4. Very thin; skinny or gaunt.[9][6][4]
  5. (US, mining) Of coal, containing much slate or shale.[4][6]

Noun

  1. (US, mining) Slaty coal, or mining waste.[4][6]

Word family

  • boniness
  • bonytail
  • bony fish

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bony.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bony. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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