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• spica
  spica

  noun

  spike.
• Spica
  Spica

  noun

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

spica

American  

[spahy-kuh] / ˈspaɪ kə /

noun

• spicae,
  plural
• spicas
  plural

1. spike.

2. a type of bandage in the shape of a figure eight, extending from an extremity to the trunk.

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

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spica ¹ British  

/ ˈspaɪkə /

noun

1. med a spiral bandage formed by a series of overlapping figure-of-eight turns

2. botany another word for spike 2

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Spica ² British  

/ ˈspiːkə /

noun

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

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Spica Scientific  

/ spī′kə /

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spicae
  plural
• spicas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of spica

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin spīca literally, “ear of grain”; cf. spike ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spica Spica

“I like it because it’s tasty, and mostly because it’s good,” the 8-year-old said, though he rated a new roll with spica tuna he recently tried a “negative million.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

He poured a little water from his carafe into a saucer, made a compress of lint, fastened it over the injured eye, and secured the whole with a spica bandage, secundum artem.

From Round the Red Lamp by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The pins are then locked in each other's loops—the punctures and skin protected by lint or adhesive plaster,—and the whole is retained by lint and a spica bandage.

From A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners by Joseph Bell

Spike.—French oil of lavender, which is procured from the Lavandula spica, is generally called oil of spike.

From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by George William Septimus Piesse

Aspic oil, from the flowers of Lavandula spica, obtained from France and Spain, and extensively employed in perfuming household and cheap toilet soaps; also frequently found as an adulterant in lavender oil.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by W. H. Simmons

“We can tell you it’s a tanker, it’s a fishing vessel, it’s a speedboat, it’s a sailing boat,” said Zack Spica, a University of Michigan assistant professor who co-founded Lumetec, which is selling the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

Stargazers in the Western Hemisphere will be able to enjoy the sight of Venus in conjunction with Spica on Sept. 5, according to EarthSky.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2021

Arcturus is in the constellation Boötes and Spica is in Virgo, so you’ve now found two additional constellations.

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2020

“It’s really about 'Does the advisor bring value to the whole portfolio management process?'” says Kathryn Spica, a mutual fund analyst with Morningstar who specializes in 529 plans.

From US News ● Aug. 7, 2014

Spica was called simak al-azal, the unarmed simak; the “armed simak” being Arcturus, simak al-ramih.

From Astronomical Curiosities Facts and Fallacies by J. Ellard Gore