spica
noun, proper noun
Forms spicas spicae
- noun (botany) A spike (kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis).
- noun (ornithology) A spur.
- noun A kind of bandage passing, by successive turns and crosses, from an extremity to the trunk; a spiral bandage with reversed turns.
- proper noun (astronomy) A binary star in the constellation Virgo; alpha (α) Virginis.
Etymology
From Latin spīca virginis (“Virgo's ear of grain”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A kind of bandage passing, by successive turns and crosses, from an extremity to the trunk; --so called from its resemblance to a spike of a barley.
- noun A star of the first magnitude situated in the constellation Virgo.
Etymology [L., an ear, as of corn.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “spica”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details