What does bony mean?
"Bony" is an adjective with two main senses. In its most common use, it describes a person, animal, or body part as thin and angular, with bones prominently visible beneath the skin — as in "the dog's bony hips showed how undernourished it had been." This sense carries a connotation of leanness taken to an extreme, often suggesting illness, malnutrition, or age rather than healthy fitness, which is why speakers frequently prefer gentler alternatives such as "slim" or "lean" in polite conversation. The second sense is more literal and technical: something made of bone or characterized by abundant bone, as in "bony tissue," "bony ridges," or "bony fish," the large group of fishes whose skeletons are true bone rather than cartilage. Formed simply from the noun "bone" plus the adjective suffix "-y", the word has been part of English since at least the late Middle English period. Its near-homophone "bonny" — meaning pretty or handsome in Scottish and Northern English dialects — makes for a memorable contrast: one letter apart, they mean almost opposite things.
Thin and angular, with bones visibly or prominently projecting through the flesh.
"The prisoner's bony wrists slipped easily out of the loose shackles."
Often implies undernourishment or frailty; can read as unflattering when applied to people.
Made of, consisting of, or relating to bone; richly supplied with bone.
"Bony fish such as trout have skeletons of true bone rather than cartilage."
One letter separates a compliment from an insult in Scotland: call someone "bonnie" and you've charmed them; call them "bony" and you may have just called them scrawny.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bony
"Bony" derives from Middle English, formed from the noun "bone" combined with the adjectival suffix "-y". The underlying word "bone" comes from Old English "bān", meaning bone or limb, which traces back to Proto-Germanic *bainan and shares distant cognates across Germanic languages, such as Dutch "been" and Old Norse "bein". The word has carried both its literal sense (made of bone) and its figurative sense (thin, with prominent bones) since early use, and it remains fully standard in both British and American English.
Related word forms
How bony is actually used
Describing a person as "bony" can sound unflattering or clinical, so it is often softened in polite speech by words like "slim" or "slender." The second sense — relating to actual bone or bone structure — is common in scientific contexts such as anatomy and ichthyology (e.g., "bony fish," class Osteichthyes).
Easily confused with bony
"Bonny" means attractive or beautiful (especially in Scottish and Northern English usage), whereas "bony" means thin with prominent bones or bone-like.