synwe

Middle English

Etymology 1

From the oblique forms of Old English sinu, seonu, from Proto-West Germanic *sinu, from Proto-Germanic *senawō, from Proto-Indo-European *snḗh₁wr̥; thus a doublet of nerve.

Some forms are influenced by Old Norse sin.

Alternative forms

• senow, senewe, senowe, senue, senwe, synewe, synoghe, synow, synue, synuwe, synueu
• senuwe, seonuwe, seonuwwe (Early Middle English)
• sinewe, sinnu, syneou, synneu, synnew, synnou, synnow, zenewe (Late Middle English); cynew, cynwe (Promptorium Parvulorum)
• syn (from Old Norse sin)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsinwə/, /ˈsinɔu̯(ə)/, /ˈsinuː/, /ˈsɛn-/
• IPA^(key): /ˈsiniu̯(ə)/, /ˈsɛn-/ (especially Kent, Southern, South Midland)

Noun

synwe (plural synwes or synwen)

1. A tendon or sinew (band of collagen).

   Synonym: thenoun

2. (specifically) An animal sinew cooked as meat.
3. (literary) A nerve (bundle of neurons)
4. (botany, rare) The veins of a leaf.

Derived terms

• synwy

Related terms

• hokschyne
• hoxen

Descendants

• English: sinew
• Scots: sinnon, sinnen, sennin, shinnon

References

• “sineu, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Verb

synwe

1. alternative form of syngen (“to sin”)