Very thin or bony, often in a way that looks unhealthy or unpleasant.
Possibly from Old Norse or Scandinavian origins, related to words meaning 'thin' or 'shriveled.' First recorded in English in the 1600s as a dialectal term.
The word 'scrawny' comes from regions where cold weather and food shortages were common, so thin, bony appearance was literally a sign that someone wasn't getting enough nutrition!
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