Flesh

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /flɛʃ/

Definitions

1. Soft tissue covering the bones of humans and animals, consisting mainly of muscle and fat
2. The soft, living substance in organisms that includes muscle tissue, fat, and connective elements surrounds the underlying structure of bones
3. The organic substance found in living beings that includes muscles, fat, and connective tissues surrounding bones and vital organs is essential for growth and movement

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "flesh" is how little its meaning has shifted from its root: the Proto-Indo-European base "*pleh₁ḱ-" meant "to tear, peel off," so the oldest sense points to the act of stripping something away rather than to the thing itself. Over the Germanic period the noun settled on the substance that lies beneath the skin, the soft tissue that wraps the bones. The form passed through Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic into Old English as "flǣsċ," which meant the edible meat of animals as well as human body tissue. Middle English shortened it to "flesch" and then "flessh," the spelling that became standard. The same ancestor produced related words across the North Sea region, including Dutch "vlees," German "Fleisch," and Swedish "fläsk," which still means pork. Many of these cousins keep the older sense of meat for food, so the English word is the one that narrowed to the human body.

Synonyms: meat, muscle, tissue, pulp, skin

Antonyms: bone, skeleton, spirit