spinule

[ spahy-nyool, spin-yool ]

nounZoology, Botany.

a small spine.

Origin of spinule

From the Latin word spīnula, dating back to 1745–55. See spine, -ule

Other words from spinule

spin·u·lose [spin-yuh-lohs, spahy-nyuh-], /ˈspɪn yəˌloʊs, ˈspaɪ nyə-/, adjective

Words Nearby spinule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spinule in a sentence

This process has been one of time: the adhesion of the "spinule" took place in about sixteen hours after its escape from the egg.
Omphalos | Philip Henry Gosse
From every corner of the hexagons (between three pores) arises a very thin, hair-like, short radial spinule.
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 spinule

spinule

/ (ˈspaɪnjuːl) /

noun

biology a very small spine, thorn, or prickle

Origin of spinule

C18: from Late Latin spīnula

Derived forms of spinule

spinulose (ˈspaɪnjʊˌləʊs), adjective

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

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