spica

[ spahy-kuh ]

noun,plural spi·cae [spahy-see], /ˈspaɪ si/, spi·cas for 1, 2.
  1. a type of bandage in the shape of a figure eight, extending from an extremity to the trunk.

  1. Spica, Astronomy. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Virgo.

Origin of spica

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin spīca literally, “ear of grain”; cf. spike2

Words Nearby spica

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spica in a sentence

  • How much brighter is an ordinary first-magnitude star, such as Aldebaran or spica, than a star just visible to the naked eye?

    A Text-Book of Astronomy | George C. Comstock
  • The specific name, spicant, is from the Latin spica, “a point.”

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • In the southeast you will recognize the quadrilateral of Corvus, with the remarkably white star spica glittering east of it.

    Astronomy with an Opera-glass | Garrett Putman Serviss
  • The figure-of-eight bandage is used on various parts, and is illustrated in the bandage called spica of the groin, Fig.

  • The faint star which our larger apertures show about 6' northeast of spica is of the tenth magnitude.

    Pleasures of the telescope | Garrett Serviss

British Dictionary definitions for spica (1 of 2)

spica

/ (ˈspaɪkə) /


nounplural -cae (-siː) or -cas
  1. med a spiral bandage formed by a series of overlapping figure-of-eight turns

  2. botany another word for spike 2 (def. 1)

Origin of spica

1
C15: from Latin: ear of corn

British Dictionary definitions for Spica (2 of 2)

Spica

/ (ˈspiːkə) /


noun
  1. the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Distance: 260 light years

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Spica

Spica

[ spī ]


  1. A bright bluish-white binary star in the constellation Virgo, with an apparent magnitude of 0.96. Scientific name: Alpha Virginis.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.