skeleton: [16] A skeleton is etymologically a ‘dried-up’ or ‘withered’ body. The word comes via modern Latin from Greek skeletón, short for sóma skeletón ‘dried-up body’. The adjective skeletós was derived from skéllein ‘dry up, wither’, and was related to sklērós ‘dry, hard’, from which English gets sclerosis [14]. => sclerosis
skeleton (n.)
1570s, from Modern Latin sceleton "bones, bony framework of the body," from Greek skeleton soma "dried-up body, mummy, skeleton," from neuter of skeletos "dried-up" (also, as a noun, "dried body, mummy"), from skellein "dry up, make dry, parch," from PIE root *skele- "to parch, wither" (see sclero-).
Skelton was an early variant form. The noun use of Greek skeletos passed into Late Latin (sceletus), hence French squelette and rare English skelet (1560s), Spanish esqueleto, Italian scheletro. The meaning "bare outline" is first recorded c. 1600; hence skeleton crew (1778), skeleton key, etc. Phrase skeleton in the closet "source of secret shame to a person or family" is from 1812.
实用例句
1. A skeleton staff of 20 is being kept on.
留下了20名骨干人员。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The skeleton consists of differently shaped bones held together by ligaments.
人体骨架是由依靠韧带连接的形状相异的骨头构成。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Only a skeleton staff remains to show anyone interested around the site.
只有一小部分必需的工作人员留在那里，带有兴趣的人参观遗址。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The human skeleton consists of 206 bones.
人的骨骼由206块骨头组成。
来自《权威词典》
5. The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.