sinewy

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English synwy, synewy, synowy (“tendonous”); equivalent to sinew +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪnjuːi/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

sinewy (comparative more sinewy, superlative most sinewy)

1. Tough; having strong sinews.
   • 1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 17], lines [97–100]:

     I haue beene wooed, as I intreat thee now,
     Euen by the ſterne, and direfull God of warre,
     VVhoſe ſinowie necke in battel nere did bow,
     VVho conquers where he comes in euery iarre; […]

   • 1885, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, “Of the Wonderful Things the Incomparable Don Quixote Said He Saw in the Profound Cave of Montesinos, the Impossibility and Magnitude of which Cause this Adventure to be Deemed Apocryphal”, in John Ormsby, transl., The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha […] In Four Vols, volume III, London: Smith, Elder & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 251:

     His right hand (which seemed to me somewhat hairy and sinewy, a sign of great strength in its owner) lay on the side of his heart; […]

2. (figuratively) Having or showing nervous strength.
3. (of a person or animal) Possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful.
   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     Worthy fellows, and like to prove most sinewy swordmen

   • 1965 (original), Frank Herbert, Dune, Ace Edition; June 1987, Pennsylvania, page 32:

     Hawat put a sinewy finger beside his eye.

Derived terms

• sinewiness

Translations

tough; having strong sinews

• Dutch: pezig (nl)
• Finnish: jänteikäs (fi)
• German: sehnig (de)
• Maori: pūioio, pakaua
• Russian: жи́листый (ru) (žílistyj), мускули́стый (ru) (muskulístyj), поджа́рый (ru) (podžáryj) (wiry)
• Spanish: correoso (es)
• Swedish: senig

having nervous strength

• Dutch: beheerst (nl)
• Finnish: lujahermoinen

possessing physical strength

• Bulgarian: жилав (bg) (žilav), мускулест (bg) (muskulest)
• Dutch: krachtig (nl)
• Finnish: jäntevä
• German: stark (de)
• Spanish: fibroso (es)

References

• WordNet® 3.0. Princeton University. 30 Aug. 2007. [1]

Anagrams

• Swiney, winsey

Middle English

Adjective

sinewy

1. Alternative form of synwy