Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SIN'EW, n. [Sax. sinu, sinw, sinwe; G. sehne; D. zenuw; Sw. sena; Dan. sene or seene. The primary sense is stretched, strained, whence the sense of strong; G. sehnen, to long; Ir. sinnim, to strain.]

1. In anatomy, a tendon; that which unites a muscle to a bone.
2. In the plural, strength; or rather that which supplies strength. Money is the sinews of war. – Dryden.
3. Muscle; nerve. – Davies.