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; 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

Spiraster, spī-ras′tėr, n. in sponges, a short curved axial rod-like spicule with thick spines.

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

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

Spiculum: a small spicule or thin, pointed process.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

This group of closely related subspecies is characterized by reddish color; posterior margins of nasals forming a V; posterior extensions of premaxillae short; basioccipital narrow; and interpterygoid space V-shaped, lacking a median spicule.

From Geographic Variation in the Pocket Gopher, Thomys bottae, in Colorado by Youngman, Phillip M.