spinescent

[spahy-nes-uh nt]

adjective

Botany.
1. becoming spinelike.
2. ending in a spine.
3. bearing spines.
Zoology. somewhat spinelike; coarse, as hair.

Origin of spinescent

First recorded in 1785–95, spinescent is from the Late Latin word spīnēscent- (stem of spīnēscēns, present participle of spīnēscere to grow thorny). See spine, -escent

Related formsspi·nes·cence, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spinescent

Historical Examples of spinescent

Resembles the first species somewhat in habit, size, and the spinescent capillitium, but the resemblance is superficial only.
The North American Slime-Moulds
Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
Characters of Dipsacus, but the green leaves of the involucre and involucels not rigid nor spinescent.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray
In the Pear and Sloe all gradations occur between spines and spine-like (spinescent) branches.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for spinescent

spinescent

adjective biology

having or resembling a spine or spines
becoming spiny

Derived Formsspinescence, noun

Word Origin for spinescent

C18: from Late Latin spīnēscere to become thorny, from Latin spīna a thorn

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