back-bone

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noun

Anatomy. the spinal column; spine.

strength of character; resolution.

something resembling a backbone in appearance, position, or function.

Bookbinding. a back or bound edge of a book; spine.

Nautical. a rope running along the middle of an awning, as a reinforcement and as an object to which a supporting bridle or crowfoot may be attached.

Naval Architecture. the central fore-and-aft assembly of the keel and keelson, giving longitudinal strength to the bottom of a vessel.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English bacbon. See back¹, bone¹

Related forms

back·boned, adjective

back·bone·less, adjective

Synonyms
2. firmness, decision, fortitude.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To back-bone

00:10

Back-bone is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

backbone (ˈbækˌbəʊn)

—n
1.	a nontechnical name for spinal column
2.	something that resembles the spinal column in function, position, or appearance
3.	strength of character; courage
4.	the main or central mountain range of a country or region
5.	nautical the main longitudinal members of a vessel, giving structural strength
6.	computing (in computer networks) a large-capacity, high-speed central section by which other network segments are connected

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

backbone

"spine," c.1300, from back (n.) + bone. Fig. sense of "strength of character" is attested from 1843.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

backbone back·bone (bāk'bōn')
n.
See spinal column.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

backbone

(bāk'bōn') Pronunciation Key
See vertebral column.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

backbone definition

The primary line(s) that connects the slower, shorter cable portions of a communications network together. (See last mile.) In larger networks, such as the Internet, a backbone consists of high-capacity, high-speed lines that can extend over great distances.

Slang Dictionary

backbone definition

n.
courage; integrity. (Colloquial.) : If you had any backbone, you would be able to deal with this.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Matching Quote

"... when the right of the individual is made sacred, when the image of God in human form, whether in marble or in clay, whether in alabaster or in ebony, is consecrated and inviolable, when men have been taught to look beneath the rags and grime, the pomp and pageantry of mere circumstance and have regard unto the celestial kernel uncontaminated at the core,—when race, color, sex, condition, are realized to be the accidents, not the substance of life, and consequently as not obscuring or modifying the inalienable title to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,—then is mastered the science of politeness, the art of courteous contact, which is naught but the practical application of the principal [sic] of benevolence, the back bone and marrow of all religion; then woman's lesson is taught and woman's cause is won—not the white woman nor the black woman nor the red woman, but the cause of every man or woman who has writhed silently under a mighty wrong."

-Anna Julia Cooper

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