sinew

English

Alternative forms

• sinnew

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 *senew-, *snēw- (“tendon”), from Proto-Indo-European *sey- (“to bind, knit, tie together, tie to, connect”). 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 (neũron, “tendon, cord, nerve”), Avestan  (snāvar-, “tendon, sinew”), Sanskrit  (snāvan-, snāván-, “tendon, muscle, sinew”), Tocharian B ṣñor.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪnjuː/

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

• sinewy

Translations

tendon — see tendon

strength

• Armenian: զորություն (hy) (zorut'yun)
• Dutch: spierkracht (nl), sterkte (nl)
• Finnish: voima (fi), jäntevyys (fi)

• Hungarian: erő (hu), izomerő (hu)
• Serbo-Croatian: snaga (sh)
• Swedish: spänst (sv) c, styrka (sv) c

source of acquiring strength

• Dutch: wilskracht (nl)
• Finnish: voimanlähde (fi)

• Hungarian: hajtóerő (hu), mozgatóerő (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: dell m
• Erzya: коське сан (kosjke san)
• Evenki: sirekte

• Middle Turkish: siŋir
• Tatar: seŋer
• Turkish: sinir n
• Yakut: iŋīr

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

• swine
• Wenis
• wines
• wisen