chine Hear it!

chine1 definition

chine (c̸hīn)

noun

  1. the backbone; spine
  2. a cut of meat containing part of the backbone
  3. a ridge of rock
  4. the juncture of the bottom and either of the sides of a boat

Etymology: ME < OFr eschine < Frank *skina, small bone, shinbone: see shin

transitive verb chined, chining chin′·ing

to cut along or across the backbone of (a carcass of meat)
chine2 definition

chine (c̸hīn)

noun

Brit., Dialectal a rocky ravine or deep fissure in a cliff

Etymology: ME < OE cine, fissure; akin to cinan, to burst open < IE base *ĝei, *ĝi-, to germinate, bloom > Ger keim, germ, bad

chine3 definition

chine (c̸hīn)

noun

chime

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.