English
spicule
Spicule comes from Latin spīculum ‘little sharp point or sting’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *speikā.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speikāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīcaas spīcum‘point, spike’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīculum‘little sharp point or sting’
- Englishearliest quotation 1860spicule
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speikāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīcaas spīcum‘point, spike’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīculum‘little sharp point or sting’
- Englishearliest quotation 1860spicule
Earliest quotation: 1860, Recreative Science: “Tear it up, and put a fragment under the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘sharp’
spike, spine, spinal, spinach, asp, spire, cusp, spina, buckthorn, aspic, 27 more
through Latin spīca ‘point, spike’
Today it means
noun A sharp, needle-like piece.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *speikā / spicule