Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Skeleton \Skel"e*ton\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ???? (sc. ???) a dried
   body, a mummy, fr. ???? dried up, parched, ???? to dry, dry
   up, parch.]
   1. (Anat.)
      (a) The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports
          the soft parts of a vertebrate animal.

   Note: [See Illust. of the Human Skeleton, in Appendix.]
      (b) The more or less firm or hardened framework of an
          invertebrate animal.

   Note: In a wider sense, the skeleton includes the whole
         connective-tissue framework with the integument and its
         appendages. See {Endoskeleton}, and {Exoskeleton}.

   2. Hence, figuratively:
      (a) A very thin or lean person.
      (b) The framework of anything; the principal parts that
          support the rest, but without the appendages.

                The great skeleton of the world.  --Sir M. Hale.
      (c) The heads and outline of a literary production,
          especially of a sermon.

Skeleton \Skel"e*ton\, a.
   Consisting of, or resembling, a skeleton; consisting merely
   of the framework or outlines; having only certain leading
   features of anything; as, a skeleton sermon; a skeleton
   crystal.

   {Skeleton bill}, a bill or draft made out in blank as to the
      amount or payee, but signed by the acceptor. [Eng.]

   {Skeleton key}, a key with nearly the whole substance of the
      web filed away, to adapt it to avoid the wards of a lock;
      a master key; -- used for opening locks to which it has
      not been especially fitted.

   {Skeleton leaf}, a leaf from which the pulpy part has been
      removed by chemical means, the fibrous part alone
      remaining.

   {Skeleton proof}, a proof of a print or engraving, with the
      inscription outlined in hair strokes only, such proofs
      being taken before the engraving is finished.

   {Skeleton regiment}, a regiment which has its complement of
      officers, but in which there are few enlisted men.

   {Skeleton shrimp} (Zo["o]l.), a small crustacean of the genus
      {Caprella}. See Illust. under {L[ae]modipoda}.

Source : WordNet®

skeleton
     n 1: something reduced to its minimal form; "the battalion was a
          mere skeleton of its former self"; "the bare skeleton of
          a novel"
     2: a scandal that is kept secret; "there must be a skeleton
        somewhere in that family's closet" [syn: {skeleton in the
        closet}, {skeleton in the cupboard}]
     3: the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a
        frame for the body of an animal [syn: {skeletal system}, {frame},
         {systema skeletale}]
     4: the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its
        shape; "the building has a steel skeleton" [syn: {skeletal
        frame}, {frame}, {underframe}]