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Where does the word "skeleton" come from? It comes from Greek skeleton, passing through Modern Latin before entering English (1570s).
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Where does the word "skeleton" come from? It comes from Greek skeleton, passing through Modern Latin before entering English (1570s).
Skeleton’s story begins in Greek: skeleton meant “mummy.” From 'skellein', to dry up: a dried-up body. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Modern Latin as sceleton. Anatomists such as Vesalius revived the term. It reached English by 1570s as skeleton. 'skeleton in the closet' dates from the 1800s. Today, skeleton means the framework of bones in a body.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient skeleton "mummy", from 'skellein', to dry up: a dried-up body.
- Stage 2 · Modern Latin · 1500s sceleton "skeleton", anatomists such as Vesalius revived the term.
- Stage 3 · English · 1570s skeleton "bone framework", 'skeleton in the closet' dates from the 1800s.