Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

spine en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /spaɪn/

Etymology

From late Middle English spyne, from Old French espine (French épine) or its source, Latin spīna (“a thorn; a prickle, spine; the backbone”). Doublet of spina.

Meanings

  1. A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.
    • The preposterous altruism too! […] Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 266:
    • 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, chapter 80, in Moby-Dick:
  2. (figuratively) A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen. ▸ Courage or assertiveness.
    • 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: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 409:
  3. Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.
    • The eastern tower and the smaller western satellite are linked by the lift core, which passes through the centre of the monorail turning circle and provides the structural spine of the building; the two towers are cantilevered from this spine. 2007, Peter Hyatt, “Ian Moore Architects”, in Masters of Light: Designing the Luminous House, Mulgrave, Vic.: The Images Publishing Group, →ISBN, Air Apartments, page 242:
    • The posterior muscles of the neck are divided into superficial, intermediate, and deep groups. The most superficial muscle is the trapezius, which originates from the external occipital protuberance and the medial nuchal line of C7 to T12 spinous processes and inserts onto the spine of the scapula, acromion, and the lateral aspect of the clavicle. 1994, Howard S. An with J. Michael Simpson, “Anatomy of the Cervical Spine”, in Surgery of the Cervical Spine, London: Martin Dunitz, →ISBN, Muscles and Fascia, page 14:
    • [Describing scoliosis.] The integuments over the abdomen are folded or wrinkled, the left breast is seldom fully developed, the ribs lose their natural shape, those of the left side becoming straighter, while, on the right side, they are so much curved, as to admit of their being easily grasped by the hand; they are closer together on the left side, and frequently rest upon the spine of the ilium, thus giving the right side a fuller and more rounded appearance than is natural. 1838, Samuel Hare, chapter 4, in Practical Observations on the Causes and Treatment of Curvatures of the Spine: With Hygienic Directions for the Physical Culture of Youth, as a Means of Preventing the Disease; an Etching and Description of an Apparatus for the Correction of the Deformity, and Engravings Illustrative of the Cases, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. [et al.], →OCLC, Lateral Curvature, page 76:
    • The polyhedron P∪D is a special spine of the twice punctured M, that is, of M with two balls B₁, B₂ cut out of it. To get a spine of M, we make a hole in c′ or c″ depending on which of them is a common face of these balls. 2007, Sergei Matveev, “2 Complexity Theory of 3-Manifolds”, in Algorithmic Topology and Classification of 3-Manifolds, 2nd edition, Berlin: Springer Science+Business Media, →ISBN, 2.3.2 Simplification Moves, page 75:
  4. The narrow, bound edge of a book that encloses the inner edges of the pages, facing outwards when the book is on a shelf and typically bearing the title and the author's and publisher's name.
    • The spine is the book's backbone. 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. 1994–2014, “Rare Book Basics: Book Terms Illustrated”, in Powell's City of Books, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2014:
  5. A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needlelike structure on an animal, shell, mushroom or plant. The botanical term technically refers to such a structure derived from a leaf or part of a leaf.
    • 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, “chapter 12”, in Descent of Man, page 331:
  6. The heartwood of trees.
  7. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of dendritic spine.
    • Spines are distinguished by the presence of globular tips called spine heads; when spines are present, the synapses innervating dendrites are made from these heads. 2008, Dale Purves, George J. Augustine, David Fitzpatrick, William C. Hall, Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, James O. McNamara, Leonard E. White, Neuroscience, 4th edition, Sinauer Associates:
  8. A linear payscale operated by some large organizations that allows flexibility for local and specific conditions.
  9. A tall mass of viscous lava extruded from a volcano.
  10. The stiffness of an arrow.
  11. A central part which supports a whole; core.
    • The false securities of upward mobility have been lampooned by Philip Roth, those of family feality ^([sic]) by many gay novelists. The two meet in Uncle and form the spine of a sly, knowing, and ultimately uncompassionate novel. 1979 February 10, Michael Bronski, “An American Dream”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 28, page 11:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
spines Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

spiny · send a shiver down someone's spine · spine pig · spinetail · spineless · send shivers down someone's spine · spiniform · spinous · finspine · microspine · spino- · thoracic spine · threespine · spine-chilling · fourspine · spine-tingling · spinebill · spine-chiller · three-spined stickleback · multispine · lumbar spine · interspine · spine ramp · protospine · spinoid · spinitis · spineback · spine road · spinal · spination · spined · drop-spine · spinose · holospine · spinate · spinophilin · spinefoot · despine · spinescent · spine board · spin- · spinebuster · spinelet · spine-tingler · spinely · spine-tailed swift · spinelike · spine plot · albaspine

Relateds

spinal cord · spinigerous · spinoidal · erector spinae · spinal canal · spinal column · spiniferous · spinule · spinigrade · spina bifida

Synonyms

spicule · thorn · spinal column · backbone · spike · virgula · needle · prickle · vertebral column · backbone · back · quill · vertebral column · spinal column · pay spine

Translations (262)

ru колю́чка (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · az onurğa (backbone) · gl cernizo (backbone) · srn bakabonyo (backbone) · nl ruggengraat (backbone) · sl hrbtenica (backbone) · kk омыртқа (backbone) · bn মেরুদণ্ড (backbone) · rsk похребцина (backbone) · de Rückgrat (backbone) · yi רוקנביין (backbone) · sh králješnica (backbone) · sv ryggrad (backbone) · de Buchrücken (bound edge of a book) · hu gerinc (backbone) · la aculeus (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · fi selkämys (bound edge of a book) · fi piikki (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ta முள்ளந்தண்டு (backbone) · el ράχη (bound edge of a book) · cs páteř (backbone) · rap ivi tika (backbone) · rup cãtinã (backbone) · sv tagg (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · es entrecuesto (backbone) · he עַמּוּד שִׁדְרָה (backbone) · is hryggur (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · fi selkä (bound edge of a book) · tl guluguran (backbone) · ar عَمُود فَقْرِيّ (backbone) · sh hȑbat (backbone) · ja 本の背 (bound edge of a book) · mk ’р́бет (backbone) · ko 척추 (backbone) · lo ກະດູກສັນຫຼັງ (backbone) · ota دیكن (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · da ryg (bound edge of a book) · cy asgwrn cefn (backbone) · ast espina (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · be хрыбе́т (backbone) · mi tuaiwi (backbone) · ka ხერხემალი (backbone) · gl espiña (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · tl bangananan (backbone) · th สันหนังสือ (bound edge of a book) · sv ryggrad (courage or assertiveness) · sl hrbet (bound edge of a book) · ky омуртка (backbone) · kmr birrbirre (backbone) · ja 脊椎 (backbone) · sh хрптѐњача (backbone) · pt espinho (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · is hryggur (backbone) · fi selkäranka (backbone) · nn virvelsøyle (backbone) · pl determinacja (courage or assertiveness) · ast espinazu (backbone) · gl espiñazo (backbone) · it colonna vertebrale (backbone) · nb ryggsøyle (backbone) · ang hryċġbān (backbone) · cmn 脊椎 (backbone) · eo spino (backbone) · da rygsøjle (backbone) · ms tulang (bound edge of a book) · cs hřbet (backbone) · uz umurtqa pogʻonasi (backbone) · nb virvelsøyle (backbone) · da rygrad (courage or assertiveness) · tt умырткалык (backbone) · vi xương sống (backbone) · ja 脊柱 (backbone) · fr échine (backbone) · bg гръбна́чен стълб (backbone) · th กระดูกสันหลัง (backbone) · el ραχοκοκαλιά (backbone) · ps شنځۍ (backbone) · mi iwituararo (backbone) · it dorso (bound edge of a book) · ru игла́ (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · bg гръб (bound edge of a book) · sh trn (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · si කශේරුව (backbone) · mi tuakoko (backbone) · da rygrad (backbone) · de Rückgrat (courage or assertiveness) · gl soá (backbone) · cmn 脊骨 (backbone) · pt espinha (backbone) · nb ryggrad (backbone) · ca raquis (backbone) · fr colonne vertébrale (backbone) · ta முதுகெலும்பு (courage or assertiveness) · sv bokrygg (bound edge of a book) · arz عمود فقري (backbone) · ota سونكو (backbone) · es espinazo (backbone) · nl stekel (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · tr diken (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · nn ryggsøyle (backbone) · fr dos (bound edge of a book) · sh kȋčma (backbone) · ta முள் (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sh hrptènjača (backbone) · es recazo (bound edge of a book) · yue 脊椎 (backbone) · hi रीढ़ (backbone) · yue 脊骨 (backbone) · sh хрптеница (backbone) · ta முதுகு (bound edge of a book) · ta முதுகெலும்பு (backbone) · bg бодил (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · tk oňurga (backbone) · km ឆ្អឹងខ្នង (backbone) · es columna vertebral (backbone) · lv mugura (bound edge of a book) · za ndoksaen (backbone) · ca llom (bound edge of a book) · rup schinari (backbone) · is hryggjarsúla (backbone) · ml നട്ടെല്ല് (backbone) · as ৰাজহাড় (backbone) · sv rygg (bound edge of a book) · is kjölur (bound edge of a book) · es espina (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · fr piquant (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · he עֹקֶץ (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sh кра́љежница (backbone) · es espina dorsal (backbone) · tg сутунмӯҳра (backbone) · it costa (bound edge of a book) · la spīna (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · lt stuburas (backbone) · eo vertebra kolumno (backbone) · sk chrbtica (backbone) · be хрыбе́тнік (backbone) · fr épine (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · et oga (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · vo bäkabom (backbone) · gl soaxe (backbone) · la columna vertebrālis (backbone) · be ́хрыбе́тніца (backbone) · hy ողնաշար (backbone) · af ruggraat (backbone) · cmn 骨幹 /骨干 (backbone) · pt espinhaço (backbone) · de Rücken (bound edge of a book) · izh selkäpii (backbone) · grc ῥάχις (backbone) · pl kręgosłup (backbone) · ru сте́ржень (courage or assertiveness) · cs bodlina (of a hedgehog) (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ga dealg (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sq bosht i kurrizit (backbone) · es esquena (backbone) · de Dorn (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · nl rug (bound edge of a book) · sh кра́љешница (backbone) · id spina (backbone) · uk хребе́т (backbone) · pl zdecydowanie (courage or assertiveness) · cu хрьбьтъ (backbone) · de Wirbelsäule (backbone) · de Stachel (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sq shtyllë e kurrizit (backbone) · el αγκάθι (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ca espina (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · cs hřbet (bound edge of a book) · ml നട്ടെല്ല് (courage or assertiveness) · ru хребе́т (backbone) · mi wewehi (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · haw heu (in cacti) (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · cmn 背骨 (backbone) · mi iwituaroa (backbone) · oc colomna vertebrala (backbone) · ur رِیڑھ کی ہَڈّی (backbone) · he עוקץ (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · he קוֹץ (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · lv mugurkauls (courage or assertiveness) · bg шип (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ga cnámh droma (backbone) · ro coloană vertebrală (backbone) · ur رِیڑھ (backbone) · nb ryggrad (courage or assertiveness) · pt coluna (backbone) · ja 背骨 (backbone) · fa-ira سُتونِ مُهْرِهها (backbone) · nl doorn (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · apw batsą́tsʼin (backbone) · nb rygg (bound edge of a book) · mk ’рбет (bound edge of a book) · gl cerrizo (backbone) · da pig (of a hedgehog) (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · nv íígháán (backbone) · ja 気骨 (courage or assertiveness) · ru хребе́т (courage or assertiveness) · th สัน (bound edge of a book) · mi tuaitara (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sh králježnica (backbone) · ru шип (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sh ки̑чма (backbone) · cs osten (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · eo vertebraro (backbone) · gd cnàimh an droma (backbone) · ru позвоно́чник (backbone) · fi selkäranka (courage or assertiveness) · pl kolec (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · pl grzbiet (bound edge of a book) · sh хр̏бат (backbone) · es raquis (backbone) · shi iẓḍi (n ukrum) (backbone) · ast espina (backbone) · ps شمزۍ (backbone) · ga spíon (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ne मेरुदण्ड (backbone) · sl hrbtenica (courage or assertiveness) · el σπονδυλική στήλη (backbone) · tr omurga (backbone) · enm chyne (backbone) · lv mugurkauls (backbone) · fi oas (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · ba энә (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · bg кура́ж (courage or assertiveness) · fr épine dorsale (backbone) · mn нуруу (backbone) · mk ’рбет (courage or assertiveness) · hi रीढ़ की हड्डी (backbone) · ga dromlach (backbone) · sl bodica (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · mi tuātara (backbone) · cst núm̄es (backbone) · mi tuātara (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · la spīna (backbone) · hi मेरुदण्ड (backbone) · be пазвано́чнік (backbone) · uk коріне́ць (bound edge of a book) · ja 背表紙 (bound edge of a book) · pt coluna vertebral (backbone) · my ကျောရိုး (backbone) · bg гръбна́к (backbone) · am አከርካሪ (backbone) · tl tinik (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · nn ryggrad (backbone) · cs páteř (courage or assertiveness) · et selgroog (backbone) · ru корешо́к (bound edge of a book) · ba умыртҡа (backbone) · egy p-s-D:F37 (backbone) · sq kurriz (backbone) · mi wehiwehi (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · tt умыртка (backbone) · ms tulang belakang (backbone) · hu tüske (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · uk спи́нка (bound edge of a book) · cs trn (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · pt dorso (bound edge of a book) · ca espinada (backbone) · vi gáy sách (bound edge of a book) · sq shtyllë kurrizore (backbone) · it spina (rigid, pointed surface protuberance or needle-like structure) · sh hrptenica (backbone) · es lomo (bound edge of a book)

wikipedia: Gray's Anatomy