| Skelet | n. A skeleton. See Scelet. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeletal | a. Pertaining to the skeleton. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeletogenous | a. [ Skeleton + -genous. ] Forming or producing parts of the skeleton. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeletology | n. [ Skeleton + -logy. ] That part of anatomy which treats of the skeleton; also, a treatise on the skeleton. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeleton | n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; (sc. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;) a dried body, a mummy, fr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; dried up, parched, &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; to dry, dry up, parch. ] 1. (Anat.) (a) The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal. [ See Illust. of the Human Skeleton, in Appendix. ] (b) The more or less firm or hardened framework of an invertebrate animal. [ 1913 Webster ] ☞ In a wider sense, the skeleton includes the whole connective-tissue framework with the integument and its appendages. See Endoskeleton, and Exoskeleton. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Hence, figuratively: (a) A very thin or lean person. (b) The framework of anything; the principal parts that support the rest, but without the appendages. [ 1913 Webster ] The great skeleton of the world. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ] (c) The heads and outline of a literary production, especially of a sermon. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeleton | a. Consisting of, or resembling, a skeleton; consisting merely of the framework or outlines; having only certain leading features of anything; as, a skeleton sermon; a skeleton crystal. [ 1913 Webster ]
Skeleton bill, a bill or draft made out in blank as to the amount or payee, but signed by the acceptor. [ Eng. ] --
Skeleton key, a key with nearly the whole substance of the web filed away, to adapt it to avoid the wards of a lock; a master key; -- used for opening locks to which it has not been especially fitted. --
Skeleton leaf, a leaf from which the pulpy part has been removed by chemical means, the fibrous part alone remaining. --
Skeleton proof, a proof of a print or engraving, with the inscription outlined in hair strokes only, such proofs being taken before the engraving is finished. --
Skeleton regiment, a regiment which has its complement of officers, but in which there are few enlisted men. --
Skeleton shrimp (Zool.), a small crustacean of the genus Caprella. See Illust. under Laemodipoda. [ 1913 Webster ]
| | Skeletonize | v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Skeletonized p. pr. & vb. n. Skeletonizing ] To prepare a skeleton of; also, to reduce, as a leaf, to its skeleton. Pop. Sci. Monthly. [ 1913 Webster ] | | Skeletonizer | n. (Zool.) Any small moth whose larva eats the parenchyma of leaves, leaving the skeleton; as, the apple-leaf skeletonizer. [ 1913 Webster ] |
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| skeletal | (adj) of or relating to or forming or attached to a skeleton, Example: the skeletal system; skeletal bones; skeletal muscles | | skeletal muscle | (n) a muscle that is connected at either or both ends to a bone and so move parts of the skeleton; a muscle that is characterized by transverse stripes, Syn. striated muscle | | skeletal structure | (n) any structure created by the skeleton of an organism | | skeletal system | (n) the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal, Syn. skeleton, frame, systema skeletale | | skeleton | (n) something reduced to its minimal form, Example: the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self; the bare skeleton of a novel | | skeleton | (n) a scandal that is kept secret, Syn. skeleton in the cupboard, skeleton in the closet, Example: there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet | | skeleton | (n) the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape, Syn. frame, skeletal frame, underframe, Example: the building has a steel skeleton | | skeleton fork fern | (n) pantropical epiphytic or terrestrial whisk fern with usually dull yellow branches and minute leaves; America; Japan; Australia, Syn. Psilotum nudum | | skeleton key | (n) a passkey with much of the bit filed away so that it can open different locks | | skeleton shrimp | (n) small amphipod crustacean having a grotesque form suggestive of the praying mantis; found chiefly on seaweed |
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