spica
noun
spica
American
[spahy-kuh]
/ ˈspaɪ kə /
noun
-
spicae,
plural
-
spicas
plural
-
a type of bandage in the shape of a figure eight, extending from an extremity to the trunk.
-
Astronomy. Spica, a first-magnitude star in the constellation Virgo.
spica
1
British
/ ˈspaɪkə /
noun
-
med a spiral bandage formed by a series of overlapping figure-of-eight turns
-
botany another word for spike 2
Spica
2
British
/ ˈspiːkə /
noun
Spica
Scientific
/ spī′kə /
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of spica
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin spīca literally, “ear of grain”; cf. spike 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“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
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
It is also the botanical name of the Lavandula spica, or spikenard, from which a white, aromatic and highly inflammable oil is distilled, called huile d’aspic.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various
“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
Using masks, toy-theater techniques and a variety of puppets designed by Spica Wobbe, they imagine those personal histories in this play, set within a tenement where the walls have 40 layers.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2018
The planet travels across the heavens with the double star Spica, a first magnitude object similar in brightness to Mars — dim for the Washington area.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2017
Between it and Spica are two fairly bright stars.
From The Star People by Gaylord Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
