spicules

- 4 dictionary results

spic⋅ule

[spik-yool]

–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 3000 to 6000 miles (4800 to 9600 km).

Origin:
1775–85; < L spīculum spearhead, arrowhead, bee stinger, equiv. to spīc(a) ear of grain (see spica ) + -ulum -ule

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To spicules

spic·ule (spĭk'yōōl)

n. pl. spic·ules also spic·u·lae (-yə-lē)
A small needlelike structure or part, such as one of the silicate or calcium carbonate processes supporting the soft tissue of certain invertebrates, especially sponges.

[Latin spīculum; see spiculum.]
spic'u·lar (-yə-lər), spic'u·late (-yə-lĭt, -lāt') adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: spic·ule
Pronunciation: 'spik-(")yü(&)l
Function: noun
: a minute slender pointed usually hard body (as of bone)

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

spicule spic·ule (spĭk'y&oomacr;l) or spic·u·la (-yə-lə)
n. pl. spic·ules or spic·u·lae (-yə-lē)
A needlelike structure or part.

spic'u·lar (-yə-lər) or spic'u·late (-yə-lĭt, -lāt') adj.

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