IPA: /ˈnʌkəlˌboʊn/
KK: /ˈnʌkəlˌboʊn/
A bone that is shaped like a knob, often found in the joints of fingers or toes, and sometimes used in games or for divination.
The children played a game of jacks using a knucklebone.
Knucklebone is formed from "knuckle" (from Middle English "knokel", meaning a joint of the finger) and "bone" (from Old English "ban", meaning bone). The word refers to the bone of a knuckle, specifically the joint in the fingers.
Think of a 'knuckle' as the joint of your finger and 'bone' as the hard structure — together, they describe the bone at the joint of your finger.