French word

ossement

Pronunciation

IPA/ɔsəmɑ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounbone

Example

On a trouvé des ossements dans la grotte.

Bones were found in the cave.

Illustration for ossement (bone)

More examples

Au musée, on voit des ossements préhistoriques.

At the museum, you can see prehistoric bones.

Core concept

Fragments of a skeleton gathered as the durable remains of an organism.

Similar words

os: A single bone from a particular part of the body.
cadavre: A dead body with flesh and internal organs still present.
squelette: The bony framework of a body after only the bones remain.

Definition in French

Ensemble d'os ou de fragments appartenant à un même organisme, souvent employé pour désigner des restes humains découverts.

Word origin

French inherited ossement from Old French, which developed from Latin ossamentum, a derivative of os, ossis, meaning bone.

Usage tips

  • The final t in ossement is silent, and the word is pronounced roughly like os-mahn with a nasal final vowel.

Other meanings

  • bone fragmentnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word