spine
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also spiné
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Old French espine (modern French épine) or its source, Latin spīna.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
spine (plural spines)
- A person or thing's backbone; the series of bones collectively from one's (literal or figurative) head to tail or pelvis.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 80,
- If you attentively regard almost any quadruped's spine, you will be struck with the resemblance of its vertebrae to a strung necklace of dwarfed skulls.
- 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 80,
- A rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure on an animal, shell, or plant.
- 1871, Charles Darwin, Descent of Man, Chapter XII,
- The male, as Dr. Gunther informs me, has a cluster of stiff, straight spines, like those of a comb, on the sides of the tail
- 1871, Charles Darwin, Descent of Man, Chapter XII,
- Courage or assertiveness.
- 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 409,
- Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.
- 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 409,
- The narrow, bound edge of a book.
- Powells Book's, rare books basics,
- Because the spine is generally all you can see when a book is on the shelf, the spine displays the title and author of the book and is often ornately decorated.
- Powells Book's, rare books basics,
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from spine
[edit] Translations
backbone
|
|
rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure on an animal, shell, or plant
metaphor for courage or assertiveness
bound edge of a book
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Italian
[edit] Noun
spine f.
- Plural form of spina.
