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spicula

[ spik-yuh-luh ]

/ ˈspɪk yə lə /

noun, plural spic·u·lae [spik-yuh-lee]. /ˈspɪk yəˌli/.

a spicule.

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What does "scattergood" mean?

a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.

a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.

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Origin of spicula

1740–50; <New Latin spīcula,Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin spīc(a) ear of grain + -ula-ule

Words nearby spicula

spicebush swallowtail, Spice Islands, spicery, spicewood, spick-and-span, spicula, spiculate, spiculation, spicule, spiculum, spicy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for spicula

Spicula all geminate-triradiate, with a short simple middle rod and three much longer arborescent shanks on each end of it.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
Spicula all simple rods, more or less curved or bent, pointed at both ends, quite smooth.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
This large species is distinguished by the very irregular form and size of the spicula.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
Spicula all together geminate-triradiate, with a simple stout middle rod and three arborescent shanks on each end of it.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel

Spicula all geminate-radiate, with a very variable number of rays (two to six) on each end of the thin middle rod.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel

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