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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Backbone \Back"bone"\ (b[a^]k"b[=o]n'), noun [2d back, noun + bone.]
1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.
2. Anything like, or serving the purpose of, a backbone.
The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country. --Darwin.
We have now come to the backbone of our subject. --Earle.
3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.
Shelley's thought never had any backbone. --Shairp.
{To the backbone}, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. ''Staunch to the backbone.'' --Lord Lytton.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
backbone
noun
1: a central cohesive source of support and stability; "faith is his anchor"; "the keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money"; "he is the linchpin of this firm" [syn: {anchor}, {mainstay}, {keystone}, {linchpin}, {lynchpin}]
2: fortitude and determination; "he didn't have the guts to try it" [syn: {grit}, {guts}, {moxie}, {sand}, {gumption}]
3: the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back" [syn: {spinal column}, {vertebral column}, {spine}, {back}, {rachis}]
4: the part of a network that connects other networks together; "the backbone is the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
98 Moby Thesaurus words for "backbone": advocate, alpenstock, arm, athletic supporter, back, backing, bandeau, bearer, bottom, bra, brace, bracer, bracket, brassiere, buttress, cane, carrier, cervix, chutzpah, corset, courage, crook, crutch, determination, firmness, fortitude, foundation garment, fulcrum, gameness, girdle, grit, guts, gutsiness, guttiness, guy, guywire, hardihood, heart, heart of oak, intestinal fortitude, jock, jockstrap, mainstay, maintainer, mast, mettle, mettlesomeness, moxie, neck, nerve, pillar, pith, pluck, pluckiness, prop, purposefulness, rachis, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, rest, resting place, rigging, sand, shoulder, shroud, spinal column, spine, spirit, sprit, spunk, spunkiness, stability, staff, stamina, standing rigging, stave, stay, staying power, stick, stiffener, stout heart, strength, strengthener, sturdiness, support, supporter, sustainer, toughness, true grit, upholder, vertebrae, vertebral column, walking stick, will
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
backbone The top level in a hierarchical {network}. {Stub networks} and {transit networks} which connect to the same backbone are guaranteed to be interconnected. See also: {Internet backbone}. (1998-07-02)
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