spiculum

English

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spiculum

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin spīculum (“a little sharp point”), from spīcum, alternative form of spīca (“point, spike”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪkjʊləm/

Noun

spiculum (plural spicula)

1. A thrusting javelin used by Romans that replaced the pilum in the late 3rd century.
2. A sharp, pointed crystal, especially of ice.
3. (zoology) A sharp, needle-like structure, especially those making up the skeleton of a sponge.
4. (astronomy) A small radial emission of gas seen in the chromosphere and corona of the sun.

Synonyms

• (sharp, pointed crystal): spicula
• (sharp, needle-like strucutre): spicule
• (small radial emission of gas): spicule

Derived terms

• spiculum amoris

Latin

Etymology

From spīcum (“point, spike”, alternative form of spīca) +‎ -ulum (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈspiː.kʊ.ɫũː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈspiː.ku.lum]

Noun

spīculum n (genitive spīculī); second declension

1. little sharp point or sting
2. dart, arrow

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	spīculum	spīcula
genitive	spīculī	spīculōrum
dative	spīculō	spīculīs
accusative	spīculum	spīcula
ablative	spīculō	spīculīs
vocative	spīculum	spīcula

Descendants

• Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italian: spigolo (“corner, edge”)
• Occitano-Romance
  • Catalan: espígol (“lavender”)
  • ⇒ Gascon: arrespilh (“piece of wood for patching containers”)
• Oïl
  • ⇒ Picard: épillon (“bee's stinger, barb”)
• West Iberian
  • Aragonese: espligo (“lavender”)
    • → Spanish: espliego
  • Galician: esprego (“lavender”)
  • → Basque: izpiliku
• Borrowings
  • → English: spicule, spiculum
  • → French: spicule
  • → Portuguese: espículo

From Vulgar Latin *spiclu(m):

• Italian: spicchio (“wedge, clove”)
• Sicilian: spicchiu (“clove”)

From spīcula (plural):

• Italo-Dalmatian
  • Corsican: spigula (“tap, spigot”)
  • Tuscan: specchia (Sillano)
• Gallo-Italic
  • Piedmontese: spigula (Alpine)
• Rhaeto-Romance
  • Ladin: spigola (“comb for flax”)
• Oïl
  • Gallo: épille
  • Norman: épile
  • Old French: espille
  • Picard: épieule, épiule

References

• Joan Coromines; José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984), “espliego”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume II (Ce–F), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 750
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “spīcŭlum”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 12: Sk–š, page 176

Further reading

• “spiculum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “spiculum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “spiculum”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “spiculum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin