Sinew - plus, play Alphabear 2 word game!

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [November 3, 2018](#none) sinew [Audio pronunciation]( noun | SIN-yoo Definition 1 : [tendon](; especially : one dressed for use as a cord or thread 2 a : solid resilient strength : [power]( b : the chief supporting force : [mainstay]( — usually used in plural Scroll down for more about sinew TRENDING NOW: [relevancy]( [argy-bargy]( [seriatim]( [nationalism]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 11/2]( # ['It is I' or 'It is Me'?]( # [The Authentic History of 'Junk Science']( # [11 Interesting and Ancient Burial Words]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Forms of Government Quiz]( Name that government! Or something like that. [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Many parts of the body have come to have figurative meanings in English. One can have an eye for interior design, for example, or lack the stomach for horror movies. [Muscle](, of course, can mean "strength," and so can sinew, a word for the tissue that ties muscle to bone—more commonly known as a tendon. For a while, sinew and [nerve]( were used in a synonymous manner for both tendons and nerves, but the use of sinew in the sense of "nerve" is now obsolete, and nerve in the sense of "sinew" or "tendon" is now primarily found only in certain phrases such as "strain every nerve" (which implies making every possible effort). The use of sinew to mean "the chief supporting force" ties into its anatomical function as a stabilizing unit. Sinew derives via Middle English from Old English seono; it is also related to Old High German senawa ("sinew") and Sanskrit syati ("he binds"). Examples of SINEW "This roast from the shoulder was beefy and juicy…. A thin line of sinew was the only unpleasant distraction." — Cook's Country, June 1995 "Among the materials [American explorer John Wesley Powell] left in Bloomington … were beaded moccasins, baskets woven from grass and willow, a bow studded with metal tacks and strung with intact string made from sinew and an arrow quiver." — Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 Sept. 2018 Test Your Vocabulary Unscramble the letters to create a word for a thread of sinew, gut, or rawhide: EABHBCI. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( NEW WORD GAME Alphabear 2 exclusive web version! A fun and challenging take on word games for everyone. The more letters you play, the more points and bigger bear you earn! [PLAY NOW! [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](