sinew

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪnjuː/

The English word “sinew” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

A cord or tendon of the body.
A cord or string, particularly (music) as of a musical instrument.
Muscular power, muscle; nerve, nervous energy; vigor, vigorous strength.
That which gives strength or in which strength consists; a supporting factor or member; mainstay.
A nerve.

verb

To knit together or make strong with, or as if with, sinews.

Etymology

From Middle English synwe, synewe (“tendon; ligament or other connective tissue; muscle; nerve; leaf vein”), from Old English sinu (“tendon, sinew; nerve”), from Proto-West Germanic *sinu, from Proto-Germanic *sinwō, from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”), from *(s)neh₁- (“to twist (threads), spin, weave”). The word is cognate with sinnow (“sinew”), Scots senon, sinnon, Saterland…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.