What is "marrow"

Marrow \Mar"row\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Marrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Marrowing.] To fill with, or as with, marrow or fat; to glut.

Marrow \Mar"row\, n. [OE. marou, mary, maruh, AS. mearg, mearh; akin to OS. marg, D. merg, G. Mark, OHG. marg, marag, Icel. mergr, Sw. merg, Dan. marv, Skr. majjan; cf. Skr. majj to sink, L. mergere. [root]274 Cf. Merge.]

1. (Anat.) The tissue which fills the cavities of most bones; the medulla. In the larger cavities it is commonly very fatty, but in the smaller cavities it is much less fatty, and red or reddish in color.

2. The essence; the best part.

   It takes from our achievements . . . The pith and marrow of our attribute.
   --Shak.

3. [OE. maru, maro; -- perh. a different word; cf. Gael. maraon together.] One of a pair; a match; a companion; an intimate associate. [Scot.]

   Chopping and changing I can not commend, With thief or his marrow, for fear of ill end.
   --Tusser.

   Marrow squash (Bot.), a name given to several varieties of squash, esp. to the Boston marrow, an ovoid fruit, pointed at both ends, and with reddish yellow flesh, and to the vegetable marrow, a variety of an ovoid form, and having a soft texture and fine grain resembling marrow.

   Spinal marrow. (Anat.) See Spinal cord, under Spinal.

late 14c., from Old English mearg "marrow," earlier mærh, from Proto-Germanic *mazga- (cognates: Old Norse mergr, Old Saxon marg, Old Frisian merg, Middle Dutch march, Dutch merg, Old High German marg, German Mark "marrow"), from PIE *mozgo- "marrow" (cognates: Sanskrit majjan-, Avestan mazga- "marrow," Old Church Slavonic mozgu, Lithuanian smagenes "brain"). Figurative sense of "inmost or central part" is attested from c.1400.

Etymology 1 n. 1 (lb en uncountable) The substance inside bones which produces blood cells. 2 (lb en countable) A kind of vegetable like a large courgette/zucchini or squash. 3 The essence; the best part. Etymology 2

alt. 1 (context Geordie informal English) A friend, pal, buddy, mate. 2 (context Scotland English) One of a pair; a match; a companion; an intimate associate. n. 1 (context Geordie informal English) A friend, pal, buddy, mate. 2 (context Scotland English) One of a pair; a match; a companion; an intimate associate.

1. n. the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones [syn: bone marrow]

2. any of various squash plants grown for their elongated fruit with smooth dark green skin and whitish flesh [syn: marrow squash, vegetable marrow]

3. very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones [syn: bone marrow]

4. large elongated squash with creamy to deep green skins [syn: vegetable marrow]

5. the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core, center, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty]

Marrow may refer to:

Marrow is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert Reed published in 2000.

Marrow is an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band consists of three former members of the Chicago band Kids These Days, as well as one new member.

Marrow (Sarah), is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men franchise. She is a mutant whose bones grow out of her skin and can be removed from her body, providing her with potential knives and clubs as well as body armor.

As a child, Marrow was taken in by the Morlocks, a band of grotesque-looking mutants who hid in tunnels beneath New York City. As a young adult, she formed the violent splinter cell Gene Nation until, under the orders of Morlock leader Callisto, she joined the X-Men to redeem herself. She made progress controlling her powers and learning a moral code, but eventually fell in with the paramilitary group Weapon X.

As a child, Marrow first appeared in Cable #15 (September 1994) and was created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist David Brewer. However, Uncanny X-Men writer Scott Lobdell and artist Joe Madureira defined her powers and temperament.

She has shown herself to be a staunch team player (more-so with the X-Men than with either Gene Nation or Weapon X) who is prepared to risk her own life to protect those of her teammates. Despite her apparent disdain for humanity, she has revealed that she would like nothing more than to be able to fit in with them and be happy.

While there have been occasions that this has happened for her (in an art gallery with Colossus and immediately following her genetic redesign by Weapon X), they have never lasted long and only served to increase her anger and bitterness towards the world when they have been taken away from her.

A marrow is a vegetable, the mature fruit of certain Cucurbita pepo cultivars. The immature fruit of the same cultivars is called courgette (in the British Isles, the Netherlands and New Zealand) or zucchini (in North America, Australia, Germany and Austria). Like courgettes, marrows are oblong, green squash, but marrows have a firm rind and a neutral flavour ("overgrown when picked and insipid when cooked..."), making them useful as edible casings for mincemeat and other stuffings. They can be stored for several weeks after harvest (like pumpkins and other winter squash), to be processed for food when required. They are a popular vegetable in Great Britain and areas with significant British influence, though their popularity is waning in favor of immature summer squash like courgette.

Giant marrows are grown competitively in the United Kingdom where the term "marrow" is often restricted to the striped, thick-skinned cultivar.

In a culinary context, marrows are treated as a vegetable; usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, marrows are fruit, a type of botanical berry, being the swollen ovary of the marrow flower. Marrows, like all squash, have their ancestry in the Americas.