Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Bone marrow.
  • noun The spinal cord.
  • noun The marrow squash.
  • noun The inmost, choicest, or essential part; the pith.
  • noun Strength or vigor; vitality.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To fill with marrow or with fat.
  • noun A companion or mate; an associate; an intimate friend; a fellow; hence, one of a pair of either persons or things; a match: as, your knife's the very marrow o' mine.
  • To associate with; hence, to match; fit.
  • Soft; tender.
  • noun A soft tissue found in the interior of bones, both in the cylindrical hollow of the long bones and in the hollows of cancellated bony structures; the medulla or medullary matter of bone.
  • noun The pith of plants.
  • noun The pulp of fruits.
  • noun Figuratively, the inner substance; the essence; the essential strength; the inner meaning, purpose, etc.; the pith.
  • noun The alligator-pear. See avocado.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) The tissue which fills the cavities of most bones; the medulla. In the larger cavities it is commonly very fatty, but in the smaller cavities it is much less fatty, and red or reddish in color.
  • noun The essence; the best part.
  • noun Scot. One of a pair; a match; a companion; an intimate associate.
  • noun (Bot.) a name given to several varieties of squash, esp. to the Boston marrow, an ovoid fruit, pointed at both ends, and with reddish yellow flesh, and to the vegetable marrow, a variety of an ovoid form, and having a soft texture and fine grain resembling marrow.
  • noun (Anat.) See Spinal cord, under Spinal.
  • transitive verb To fill with, or as with, marrow or fat; to glut.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Geordie, informal A friend, pal, buddy, mate.
  • noun uncountable The substance inside bones which produces blood cells.
  • noun countable A kind of vegetable like a large courgette/zucchini or squash.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of various squash plants grown for their elongated fruit with smooth dark green skin and whitish flesh
  • noun large elongated squash with creamy to deep green skins
  • noun very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones
  • noun the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones
  • noun the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English marow, from Old English mearg.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old Norse margr.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English mary, marow, marowe, marowȝ, from Old English mearg, from Proto-Germanic *mazgan, *mazgaz, from Proto-Indo-European *mozgos. See Dutch merg and Russian мозг ("brain").

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Examples

  • The red marrow consists of a small quantity of connective tissue, bloodvessels, and numerous cells (Fig. 72), some few of which are fat cells, but the great majority are roundish nucleated cells, the true “marrow cells” of Kölliker.

    II. Osteology. 2. Bone 1918

  • In the bodies of the long bones the marrow is of a yellow color, and contains, in 100 parts, 96 of fat, 1 of areolar tissue and vessels, and 3 of fluid with extractive matter; it consists of a basis of connective tissue supporting numerous bloodvessels and cells, most of which are fat cells but some are “marrow cells, ” such as occur in the red marrow to be immediately described.

    II. Osteology. 2. Bone 1918

  • Before chemotherapy treatment begins, marrow is removedfrom the bones and stored; the marrow is then replaced.

    Rhabdomyosarcoma 2010

  • I have a hard time believing a band of cutthroats would operate in this manner, but what really chills the marrow is the Clan's glib acceptance of these robbers who, as far as the Clan is concerned, winnow out the riff-raff.

    August Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Tour: Broken Angel 2008

  • I have a hard time believing a band of cutthroats would operate in this manner, but what really chills the marrow is the Clan's glib acceptance of these robbers who, as far as the Clan is concerned, winnow out the riff-raff.

    Archive 2008-08-01 2008

  • The result was a dish that was carnal, and as barbaric as digging marrow from the bone can be, but also refined, by digging it out with a demitasse spoon.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Sarah Lenz 2009

  • The marrow is to be eaten "like tapanade" but without the olives.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Sarah Lenz 2009

  • The marrow is still there, but what's around it is brittle and splintered.

    fourfour: 2009

  • The result was a dish that was carnal, and as barbaric as digging marrow from the bone can be, but also refined, by digging it out with a demitasse spoon.

    Bone Marrow--"Light of my life, fire of my loins." Sarah Lenz 2009

  • The marrow is to be eaten "like tapanade" but without the olives.

    Bone Marrow--"Light of my life, fire of my loins." Sarah Lenz 2009

Comments

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  • SUCK THE MARROW OUT OF LIFE!!!!

    -The Dead Poet's Society

    August 1, 2009

  • Umm... actually Dead Poets Society got it from Thoreau.

    August 1, 2009