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more about backbone
backbone |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Backbone \Back"bone"\, n. [2d back,n.+ bone. ] 1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column. 2. Anything like or serving the purpose of a backbone. The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country. --Darwin. We have now come to the backbone of our subject. --Earle. 3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness. Shelley's thought never had any backbone. --Shairp. {To the backbone}, through and through thoroughly; entirely. ``Staunch to the backbone.'' --Lord Lytton. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: backbone n 1: a central cohesive source of support and stability: "faith is his anchor"; "he is the linchpin of this firm" [syn: {anchor}, {mainstay}, {linchpin}, {lynchpin}] 2: (informal) fortitude; "he didn't have the guts to try it" [syn: {grit}, {guts}, {sand}, {gumption}] 3: the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back" [syn: {spinal column}, {vertebral column}, {spine}, {back}] 4: a computer network that connects other computer networks From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: backboneThe top level in a hierarchical {network}. {Stub networks} and {transit networks} which connect to the same backbone are guaranteed to be interconnected. See also: {Internet backbone}. (1998-07-02)
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