cuttlebone

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cuttlebone

/ˈkʌtl̩bəʊn/ UK
/ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/ US
[-ɾ(ə)l-] US

Where it comes from

From Middle English cotilbone [and other forms], from cotil, cutil, codel (“cuttlefish; cuttlebone”) (from Old English cudele (“cuttlefish”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, to curve; an arch; a vault”)) + bon (“bone”) (from Old English bān (“bone”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike; to cut, hew”)). The English word is analysable as cuttle (“cuttlefish”) + bone.

noun cuttlebones

Synonym of cuttlefish bone (“the calcareous, oval-shaped internal shell of a cuttlefish (order Sepiida), originally used in powdered form as an antacid and for absorbing moisture or polishing objects, and now chiefly as a dietary supplement for cage birds”).
Similar: sepiostaire, sepium, osselet, cuttlefish bone

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MLA

"cuttlebone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cuttlebone. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cuttlebone. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cuttlebone

Chicago

"cuttlebone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cuttlebone.

BibTeX

@misc{cuttlebone_2026,
  title = {cuttlebone},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cuttlebone},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}