spine
/spaɪn/ noun
Forms spines
- noun (anatomy, zootomy) A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.
- noun (figurative) Courage or assertiveness.
- noun Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.
- noun The narrow, bound edge of a book that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's and publisher's name.
- noun (zootomy, botany, mycology) A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needlelike structure on an animal, shell, mushroom or plant. The botanical term technically refers to such a structure derived from a leaf or part of a leaf.
- noun (botany) The heartwood of trees.
- noun A linear payscale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.
- noun (geology) A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano.
Synonyms
backbone spinal column vertebral column back needle prickle quill spicule spike thorn virgula pay spine rachis spur acantha pricker sticker spikelet
Etymology
From late Middle English spyne, from Old French espine (French épine) or its source, Latin spīna (“a thorn; a prickle, spine; the backbone”). Doublet of spina.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A sharp appendage to any of a plant; a thorn.
- noun (a) A rigid and sharp projection upon any part of an animal.
Etymology [L. spina thorn, the spine; akin to spica a point: cf. OF. espine, F. épine. Cf. Spike, Spinet a musical instrument, Spinny.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “spine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details