Skel″e‐ton (?), n. 1. (Anat.) (a) The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal. [See Illust. of the Human Skeleton, in Appendix.] (b) The more or less firm or hardened framework of an invertebrate animal.
☞ In a wider sense, the skeleton includes the whole connective-tissue framework with the integument and its appendages. See Endoskeleton, and Exoskeleton.
2. Hence, figuratively: (a) A very thin or lean person. (b) The framework of anything; the principal parts that support the rest, but without the appendages.
The great skeleton of the world. Sir M. Hale.
(c) The heads and outline of a literary production, especially of a sermon.