Noun

1. a skeleton
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 3, scene v,

     That eyes, that are the frail'st and softest things / Who shut their coward gates on atomies / Should be call'd tyrants, butchers, murderers!

   • 1786, Dr. Smollett, The History and Adventures of an Atom, Harrison and Co., page 5,

     I was now thrown into a violent perturbation of spirit; for I never could behold an atomy without tear and trembling, even when I knew it was no more than a competition of dry bone.