English
spinous
Spinous comes from Latin spinōsus ‘thorny, prickly’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘long, thin, sharp’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spey-‘long, thin, sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speinā‘thorn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīna‘thorn’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspinōsus‘thorny, prickly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1824spinous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spey-‘long, thin, sharp’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speinā‘thorn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīna‘thorn’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEspinōsus‘thorny, prickly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1824spinous
Earliest quotation: 1824, Oliver Goldsmith, A History of the Earth: “The cetaceous tribes have their bones entirely resembling those…”
Formed from spine + -ous
Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘sharp point’
Proto-Italic *speinā ‘thorn’
Latin spīna ‘thorn’
Old French espine
Middle English spyne ‘a spine’
English spine
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘long, thin, sharp’
spike, spinach, asp, spire, cusp, spigot, spica, aspic, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *speinā ‘thorn’
through Latin spīna ‘thorn’
Today it means
adj Having many spines.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *spey- / spinous