spica
[spahy-kuh]
- spike2.
- a type of bandage in the shape of a figure eight, extending from an extremity to the trunk.
- (initial capital letter) Astronomy. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Virgo.
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Origin of spica
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for spica
Historical Examples
Spica represents the ear of corn held in the Virgin's left hand.
A Field Book of the StarsWilliam Tyler Olcott
The brightest star in this region of the sky is Spica, in Virgo.
A Field Book of the StarsWilliam Tyler Olcott
Its center lies about 50 south of Spica in Virgo and below the tail of Hydra.
Astronomy for Young FolksIsabel Martin Lewis
Spike lavender or French lavender; also the male lavender, spica nardi, or pseudo-nardus of old writers.
When it is at 3 it is at lower culmination, and the star Spica is on the meridian.
A Text-Book of AstronomyGeorge C. Comstock
spica
- med a spiral bandage formed by a series of overlapping figure-of-eight turns
- botany another word for spike 2 (def. 1)
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin: ear of corn
Spica
- the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Distance: 260 light years
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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
Word Origin and History for spica
Spica
n.
1728, bright star in constellation Virgo, from Latin, literally "ear of grain," corresponding to Greek stakhys (see spike (n.1)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Spica
[spī′kə]
- 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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.