Boning

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈbəʊnɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Furthermore, the concept encompasses a specific type of reinforcement applied in the realms of costume design and structure
2. A technique used in garment construction for shaping, often employing materials such as plastic or metal to provide support
3. A method involving the insertion of rigid materials within fabrics to create structure and shape in clothing design

Etymology: The word in question is the garment sense of "boning", the practice of stiffening a bodice or corset with thin strips of whalebone, and later steel or plastic. It comes from "bone", which in Old English was "bān" and meant the hard tissue of the skeleton. Its ancestor, Proto-Germanic "bainą", is linked to a further root meaning "to hit, strike", a connection that is possible but not certain. The "bone" word also shares roots with Dutch "been" and German "Bein", both of which mean "leg" as well as "bone", showing how closely the two ideas were once tied. The verb sense follows naturally from the material. Stays were stiffened with strips of whalebone, the flexible-yet-rigid baleen of whales, so making a corset was literally inserting bones into it. "Boning" thus describes the act of fitting these supports, and the "bone" in the name refers to the material itself, even when steel replaced it in later centuries.

Synonyms: filleting, deboning