Etymologically
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bony

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 01:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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.