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Webster 1913 Edition

Sinew

Sin′ew

,
Noun.
[OE.
sinewe
,
senewe
, AS.
sinu
,
seonu
; akin to D.
zenuw
, OHG.
senawa
, G.
sehne
, Icel.
sin
, Sw.
sena
, Dan.
sene
; cf. Skr.
snāva
. √290.]
1.
(Anat.)
A tendon or tendonous tissue. See
Tendon
.
2.
Muscle; nerve.
[R.]
Sir J. Davies.
3.
Fig.: That which supplies strength or power.
The portion and
sinew
of her fortune, her marriage dowry.
Shakespeare
The bodies of men, munition, and money, may justly be called the
sinews
of war.
Sir W. Raleigh.
☞ Money alone is often called the sinews of war.

Sin′ew

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sinewed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sinewing
.]
To knit together, or make strong with, or as with, sinews.
Shak.
Wretches, now stuck up for long tortures . . . might, if properly treated, serve to
sinew
the state in time of danger.
Goldsmith.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sinew

SIN'EW

,
Noun.
1.
In anatomy, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone.
2.
In the plural, strength; or rather that which supplies strength. Money is the sinews of war.
3.
Muscle; nerve.

SIN'EW

,
Verb.
I.
To knit as by sinews.

Definition 2024

sinew

sinew

English

Alternative forms

  • sinnew

Noun

sinew ‎(plural sinews)

  1. (anatomy) A cord or tendon of the body.
  2. (obsolete) A nerve.
  3. (figuratively) Muscle; nerve; nervous energy; vigor; vigorous strength; muscular power.
  4. A string or chord, as of a musical instrument.
  5. (figuratively) That which gives strength or in which strength consists; a supporting member or factor; mainstay; source of strength (often plural).
    • Shakespeare
      The portion and sinew of her fortune, her marriage dowry.
    • Sir Walter Raleigh
      The bodies of men, munition, and money, may justly be called the sinews of war.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

sinew ‎(third-person singular simple present sinews, present participle sinewing, simple past and past participle sinewed)

  1. To knit together, or make strong with, or as if with, sinews.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
    • Goldsmith
      Wretches, now stuck up for long tortures […] might, if properly treated, serve to sinew the state in time of danger.

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English sinewe, synow, sinue, from Old English sinu, synu, senu, seono, seonu ‎(“sinew, nerve, tendon”), from Proto-Germanic *sinwō, *senawō ‎(“sinew”), from Proto-Indo-European *snḗh₁wr̥ ‎(“sinew, tendon”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- ‎(“to twist (threads), spin, weave”). Cognate with Scots senon, sinnon, sinnow ‎(“sinew”), Saterland Frisian Siene ‎(“sinew”), West Frisian senuw, sine ‎(“nerve, sinew”), Dutch zenuw ‎(“nerve, sinew”), German Sehne ‎(“tendon, cord, sinew”), Swedish sena ‎(“sinew”), Icelandic sin ‎(“tendon”), Latin nervus ‎(“sinew, nerve, tendon”), Ancient Greek νεῦρον ‎(neûron, “tendon, cord, nerve”), Avestan [script needed] ‎(snāvar-, “tendon, sinew”), Sanskrit स्नावन् ‎(snāván, “tendon, muscle, sinew”), Tocharian B ṣñor.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɪnjuː/

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