chine Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun cut of meat or fish including at least part of the backbone
  2. noun backbone of an animal
  3. verb cut through the backbone of an animal

WordNet

Chine noun
Etymology
Cf. Chink.
Definitions
  1. A chink or cleft; a narrow and deep ravine; as, Shanklin Chine in the Isle of Wight, a quarter of a mile long and 230 feet deep. Prov. Eng. "The cottage in a chine." J. Ingelow.
Chine noun
Etymology
OF. eschine, F. échine, fr. OHG. skina needle, prickle, shin, G. schiene splint, schienbein shin. For the meaning cf. L. spina thorn, prickle, or spine, the backbone. Cf. Shin.
Definitions
  1. The backbone or spine of an animal; the back. "And chine with rising bristles roughly spread." Dryden.
  2. A piece of the backbone of an animal, with the adjoining parts, cut for cooking. See Illust. of Beef.
  3. The edge or rim of a cask, etc., formed by the projecting ends of the staves; the chamfered end of a stave.
Chine transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Chined
Definitions
  1. To cut through the backbone of; to cut into chine pieces.
  2. Too chamfer the ends of a stave and form the chine..

Webster 1913