spicule

American  

[spik-yool] / ˈspɪk yul /

noun

1. a small or minute, slender, sharp-pointed body or part; a small, needlelike crystal, process, or the like.

2. Zoology. one of the small, hard, calcareous or siliceous bodies that serve as the skeletal elements of various marine and freshwater invertebrates.

3. Astronomy. a jet of gas several hundred miles in diameter rising from the sun's surface to heights of 3,000 to 6,000 miles (4,800 to 9,600 km).

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spicule British  

/ ˈspɪkjuːl, -lɪt, ˈspɪkjʊˌleɪt /

noun

1. Also called: spiculum.  a small slender pointed structure or crystal, esp any of the calcareous or siliceous elements of the skeleton of sponges, corals, etc

2. astronomy a spiked ejection of hot gas occurring over 5000 kilometres above the sun's surface (in its atmosphere) and having a diameter of about 1000 kilometres

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spicule Scientific  

/ spĭk′yo̅o̅l /

1. A needlelike structure or part, such as one of the mineral structures supporting the soft tissue of certain invertebrates, especially sponges.

2. Any of numerous short-lived vertical jets of hot gas rising from the solar chromosphere and extending into the corona. Spicules, which only last for about five to ten minutes, are usually several hundred kilometers wide and several thousand kilometers high.

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Other Word Forms

• spiculate
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of spicule

First recorded in 1775–85; from Latin spīculum “spearhead, arrowhead, bee stinger,” equivalent to spīc(a) “ear of grain” + -ulum diminutive suffix; see spica, -ule

Example Sentences

They lack many of the animal’s most distinct and fossil-friendly features, including mineralized skeletons and skeleton-like spicule structures.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2021

Dalichamp suspected that the mischief was due to a spicule of bone that the two consecutive days of violent exercise had served to liberate.

From The Downfall by Robins, E. P.

Tylote, tī′lōt, n. a cylindrical spicule, knobbed at both ends.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

A peculiar small siliceous spicule having a denticulated wheel at each end; Ð found in freshwater sponges.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Spic′ūlum, a spicule; Spike′bill, a merganser, a sawbill: the marbled godwit.—p.adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various