sawbones C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine US /ˈsɔboʊnz/ UK /ˈsɔːbəʊnz/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a slang term for a surgeon or doctor Fetch the sawbones; the captain's leg is broken. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a slang term for a surgeon... surgeondoctorphysicianmedic Word family Related forms sawbones Etymology AI details A 19th-century slang compound of saw + bones, alluding to the surgeon's use of a saw to amputate limbs. sagu Old English bān Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Health & Medicine Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # sawbones **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈsɔboʊnz/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɔːbəʊnz/ ## Meanings 1. a slang term for a surgeon or doctor ## Examples - Fetch the sawbones; the captain's leg is broken. ## Synonyms - surgeon - doctor - physician - medic ## Related Forms - saw - bones ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sagu - Root: bān ## Etymology A 19th-century slang compound of saw + bones, alluding to the surgeon's use of a saw to amputate limbs. ## AI Etymology Sawbones is a 19th-century slang compound of saw + bones, alluding to the surgeon's use of a saw to amputate limbs. The compound structure is semantically important: one element narrows the setting, direction, or quality, and the other supplies the object, action, or base idea. As a noun, it denotes "a slang term for a surgeon or doctor", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Old English sagu and Old English bān. Related words include saw, bones. ## Topics - Health & Medicine - Register & Style markdown