spicula

[ spik-yuh-luh ]

/ ˈspɪk yə lə /

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

a spicule.

Nearby words

spicewood, spicey, spick, spick and span, spick-and-span, spicula, spicular, spiculate, spiculation, spicule, spiculum

Origin of spicula

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

Definition for spicula (2 of 2)

spiculum

[ spik-yuh-luh m ]

/ ˈspɪk yə ləm /

noun, plural spic·u·la [spik-yuh-luh] /ˈspɪk yə lə/. Zoology.

a small, needlelike body, part, process, or the like.

Origin of spiculum

1740–50; < Latin spīculum; see spicule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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

British Dictionary definitions for spicula

spiculum

/ (ˈspɪkjʊləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə)

another word for spicule (def. 1)

Word Origin for spiculum

C18: from Latin: small sharp point, from spica

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