spicula

American  

[spik-yuh-luh] / ˈspɪk yə lə /

noun

plural

spiculae

1. a spicule.

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Etymology

Origin of spicula

1740–50; < New Latin spīcula, Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin spīc ( a ) ear of grain + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

In the eagerness with which these bones are crushed, spicula or large pieces of them become wedged between the molar teeth, and form an inseparable obstacle to the closing of the teeth.

From The Dog by Youatt, William

The last fact, trivial as it appears, assumes immense importance when we learn that to these spicula we must turn for an explanation of the isolated masses of flint which abound in various chalk formations.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 3, August, 1850. by Various

The silicious particles which constitute this mud, are derived, in part, from the diatomaceous plants and radiolarian animals which throng the surface, and, in part, from the spicula of sponges which live at the bottom.

From Discourses Biological and Geological Essays by Huxley, Thomas Henry

As the flakes fall down through the atmosphere, they are joined by more of these radiated spicula, and thus increase in bulk like the drops of rain or hail-stones.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 13, No. 358, February 28, 1829 by Various

Linguae procacis plumbea spicula, Fidens, superbo frange silentio;   Victrix per obstantes catervas     Sedulitas animosa tendet.

From Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 The Works of Samuel Johnson, Ll.D., in Nine Volumes by Johnson, Samuel