The word "bony" is spelled with three letters: b-o-n-y. The IPA transcription for "bony" is /ˈboʊni/ which shows that the first sound is a voiced bilabial plosive (/b/), followed by a diphthong (/oʊ/) consisting of an open-mid back rounded vowel (/o/) and a close-mid back rounded vowel (/ʊ/), and ending with an unvoiced dental fricative (/n/) and a close front unrounded vowel (/i/). This word describes something that contains or resembles bone, such as a bony fish or bony fingers.
Bony is an adjective used to describe something that is related to or consists of bone. It refers to the quality or characteristic of being made of bone or similar in appearance or texture to bone.
In a literal sense, bony refers to objects, structures, or living beings that have bones as a basic component of their anatomy. For instance, when describing an animal or human, it could indicate their skeletal structure, emphasizing the prominence or visibility of boniness, such as "She had a bony face with sunken cheeks and a protruding jaw."
The term can also be used metaphorically to describe something that is lean, thin, or lacking flesh or muscle. In this sense, bony is often applied to describe a person's body shape or features that are gaunt or emaciated, suggesting a lack of body fat or muscle mass. For example, "He has a bony physique, with his ribs clearly visible."
In medicine, bony is used to denote conditions or abnormalities pertaining to bones, such as a bony deformity resulting from injury or disease. It can also describe bone-related symptoms or sensations, such as bony pain or a bony prominence.
Overall, bony is an adjective that primarily pertains to bone or bone-like qualities, encompassing physical structures, anatomical features, body shapes, and medical conditions related to bones.
Full of bones; stout; strong; consisting of bone; hard and brittle.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "bony" originated in Middle English from the Old English word "bánig", which is derived from the Old English word "bān", meaning bone. It is ultimately related to the Proto-Germanic word "*bainan", which also means bone. This Proto-Germanic term is believed to have evolved from the Proto-Indo-European root "*bōHn-", meaning bone or tusk. The word "bony" has remained relatively unchanged in its meaning and pronunciation throughout its evolution.