Showing results for "spicula"

• plural of spiculum.

spicula

American  

[spik-yuh-luh] / ˈspɪk jə lə /

noun

• spiculae
  plural

1. a spicule.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• spiculae
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of spicula

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spicula spiculae

In the eagerness with which these bones are crushed, spicula or large pieces of them become wedged between the molar teeth, and form an inseparable obstacle to the closing of the teeth.

From The Dog by William Youatt

I have received and read with interest your paper on the sponge with horny spicula.

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 1 by Sir Francis Darwin

Some of the fibres are thickly covered with extremely minute spicula, occasionally aggregated into little tuffs; and hence they have a hairy appearance.

From Volcanic Islands by Charles Darwin

A little above this, where the lime is less abundant, and the lava more compact, numerous little balls, composed of spicula of calcareous spar, radiating from common centres, occupy the interstices.

From Volcanic Islands by Charles Darwin

His varied and solid knowledge makes his style lustrous with points and shooting spicula of thought, and resembling one of those winter mornings when the air sparkles with crystals.

From Representative Men by Ralph Waldo Emerson

When it was heated, these flints cracked and burst, and the spiculae were scattered over the pieces of pottery, sticking to them. 

From Self help; with illustrations of conduct and perseverance by Samuel Smiles

These spiculae, or darts, will remain unaltered on the glass for some months.

From The Illustrated London Reading Book by Various

The chief difference between the white and red fir is in the spiculae or leaves.

From The Lake of the Sky Lake Tahoe in the High Sierras of California and Nevada, its History, Indians, Discovery by Frémont, Legendary Lore, Various Namings, Physical Characteristics, Glacial Phenomena, Geology, Single Outlet, Automobile Routes, Historic Towns, Early Mining Excitements, Steamer Ride, Mineral Springs, Mountain and Lake Resorts, Trail and Camping Out Trips, Summer Residences, Fishing, Hunting, Flowers, Birds, Animals, Trees, and Chaparral, with a Full Account of the Tahoe National Forest, the Public Use of the Water of Lake Tahoe and Much Other Interesting Matter by George Wharton James

It publishes itself in creatures, reaching from particles and spiculae through transformation on transformation to the highest symmetries, arriving at consummate results without a shock or a leap.

From Essays — Second Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have frequently observed this descent of minute icy spiculae when the sky appears perfectly clear, and could even perceive that its silent but continued action added to the snowy covering of the ground.

From The Journey to the Polar Sea by John Franklin

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