Dictionary Definition
spine
Noun
1 the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the
skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back"
[syn: spinal
column, vertebral
column, backbone,
back, rachis]
2 any pointed projection [syn: spur]
4 a sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a
porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From espine (modern: épine).Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -aɪn
Noun
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
Derived terms
Translations
backbone
- Bosnian: kičma
- Chinese: 脊椎 (jǐ zhuī)
- Czech: páteř
- Danish: rygsøjle , rygrad
- Dutch: ruggengraat
- Finnish: selkäranka
- French: colonne vertébrale , échine (of animals)
- German: Rückgrat
- Japanese: 脊椎, せきつい (sekitsui), 脊柱, せきちゅう (sekichū),背骨, せぼね (sebone)
- Latvian: mugurkauls
- Macedonian: 'рбет ('rbet)
- Polish: kręgosłup
- Russian: позвоночник (pozvonóčnik) , хребет (χr'ebét)
- Serbian:
- Swedish: ryggrad
rigid, pointed surface protuberance or
needle-like structure on an animal, shell, or plant
metaphor for courage or assertiveness
bound edge of a book
Italian
Noun
spine- Plural of spina
Extensive Definition
Spine or Spinal may refer to:
Science and medicine
- backbone,
Vertebral
column in anatomy (protects the spinal cord)
- Spinal anaesthesia, a type of regional anaesthetic
- Lumbar puncture, a colloquial term for which is a spinal tap
- Spine (Journal), a bi-weekly peer review journal of spine surgery
- Spinal cord, the bundle of nerve cells and nerve fibers within the vertebral column
- Spine (botany), needle-like structures in plants
- Spine (mathematics), a codimension one structure associated to a compact manifold obtained by collapsing said manifold with one point removed
- Spine (zoology), needle-like structures in animals
- Dendritic spine, a specialized postsynaptic protrusion in dendrites implicated in learning and memory through synaptic plasticity
- SPINE (molecular biology), an acronym for Strep-Protein INteraction Experiment, a method for the detection of protein protein interactions
Other uses
- The Spine, a set of national services used by the NHS Care Record Service (an electronic patient record system)
- Courage, "having a spine" (see for example the word spineless)
- Spine (archery), a measure of stiffness
- The Spine, a 2004 They Might Be Giants album, including the songs "Spine" and "Spines"
- Spinal Tap (band), a semi-fictional heavy metal band
- The Spines, a real live band from Wellington, New Zealand. Led by singer/songwriter Jon Mc Leary.
- Spinal (Killer Instinct), a fictional character from the video game Killer Instinct
- Spine a demon in Blood Beast of the Demonata saga
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
advocate, alpenstock, arm, athletic supporter, back, backbone, backing, bandeau, barb, barbel, barbule, bearer, bilge, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boss, bow, bra, brace, bracer, bracket, bramble, brassiere, brier, bristle, bubble, bulb, bulge, bulla, bump, bunch, burl, burr, button, buttress, cactus, cahot, cane, carrier, catchweed, cervix, chine, cleavers, clump, col, comb, condyle, convex, corset, crook, crutch, dowel, ear, esker, flange, flap, foundation garment, fulcrum, gall, girdle, gnarl, goose grass, guy, guywire, handle, hill, hogback, horseback, hump, hunch, jock, jockstrap, jog, joggle, kame, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip, loop, lump, mainstay, maintainer, mast, mole, mountain, neck, needle, nettle, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, papilloma, peg, pine needle, prickle, prong, prop, quill, rachis, ray, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer, rest, resting place, rib, ridge, rigging, ring, saddle, saddleback, shoulder, shroud, spicula, spicule, spiculum, spike, spikelet, spinal column, spinal
cord, sprit, spur, staff, standing rigging, stave, stay, stick, sticker, stiffener, strengthener, stud, style, support, supporter, sustainer, tab, thistle, thorn, tubercle, tubercule, upholder, verruca, vertebrae, vertebral column,
vesicle, wale, walking stick, wart, welt, yucca