Meaning

noun something reduced to its minimal form

noun a scandal that is kept secret

noun the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal

originFrom New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0