spicule

English

Etymology

From Latin spīculum.

Noun

spicule (plural spicules)

1. A sharp, needle-like piece.
2. A tiny glass flake formed during the manufacture of glass vials
3. (biology) Any of many needle-like crystalline structures that provide skeletal support in marine invertebrates like sponges.
   • 1860, Recreative Science, page 110:

     Tear it up, and put a fragment under the microscope, and, wonder of wonders! see the maze of geometric forms exhibited in the bones of the creature; for who can help regarding the spicules as bones, even though a sponge be invertebrate?

4. A needle-like mating structure found only in male nematodes.
5. (astronomy) A jet of matter ejected from the photosphere of the sun.
6. A small spike of flowers.

Translations

sharp, needle-like piece

• Bulgarian: шип (bg) m (šip)
• Finnish: spikula
• German: Nadel (de) f
• Italian: spicola f
• Russian: спи́кула (ru) f (spíkula)

any of many needle-like crystalline structures that provide skeletal support in marine invertebrates like sponges

• Catalan: espícula f
• Finnish: spikula, kalkkineulanen
• French: spicule (fr) m
• German: Kalknadel f
• Italian: spicola f
• Portuguese: espícula f
• Romanian: spicul (ro) n
• Russian: спи́кула (ru) f (spíkula)

Anagrams

• Pulices, clipeus

French

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spi.kyl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

spicule f (plural spicules)

1. (biology) spicule

Further reading

• “spicule”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.