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Glite Dictionary
💪 Main support 🌐 Main network 🦴 Spine 📚 Book's spine
backbone

backbone

1 6.3
The narrow edge of a book that holds the pages together
  • noun
  • /ˈbækˌboʊn/
translation icon : lomo (del libro)
  • The title and author are printed on the backbone of the book, making it easy to find on the shelf.

Examples

  • When organizing my books, I always check the backbone for the correct title.

  • He carefully inspected the backbone to ensure it was intact before adding the book to his collection.

  • Sacks sees the dual backbone of the good used bookstore as one having strong selections of fiction and history.

    Blog text (11)

  • Roundworms, or nematodes, are a group of invertebrates (animals having no backbone) with long, round bodies.

    Blog text (17)

  • Dave, I can really relate to what you say here, but I have also read (sorry, can't remember the sources) that local Christian churches are the social justice backbone of this nation and provide more, and more effective, social services than any other agency (government or private).

    Blog text (33)

Synonyms

spine
vsbackbone
20 4.6

The part of a book that covers the edge where the pages are joined and shows the title

has identical meaning but highlights the narrow visible cover strip on shelves

Idioms

backbone of
32 3.4

The main part that supports a system or group

to the backbone
  • Informal
7.1

Completely loyal and firm, not willing to change

Surface Forms

backbone singular
backbones plural

Morphology

backbone = back + bone (semi-transparent) = back + bone

Metaphorical extension from the anatomical 'backbone' to the book's spine; components suggest the idea but the usage is figurative.

Etymology

The word backbone is used for the narrow part of a book because that strip, like the bones in a body, 'holds the pages together' and gives the book its main support on a shelf.