spinal
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /spaɪ.nəl/, /spaɪ.nl̩/[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Late Latin spīnālis (“of a thorn or the spine”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin spīna (“backbone; thorn”) (see spine).[2][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Of the backbone, in spinal marrow or cord: 1578 in the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1570s in Etymonline.[6][4][2]
Semantic evolution
It is used with other nouns, as spinal artery and spinal canal, from 1725,[6] and of diseases affecting the spine from 1838.[6] The spinal tap, a lumbar puncture, is recorded from 1960.[2] As a noun, a spinal anaesthetic, it is from 1944.[4][7] A separate obsolete spinal was a textile fabric, from 1399–1400.[6]
Timeline
- 1578 – spinal marrow, spinal cord.[6]
- 1725 – spinal artery, canal.[6]
- 1838 – spinal disease.[6]
- 1944 – a spinal (anaesthetic).[4]
- 1960 – spinal tap.[2]
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Relating to or near the spine or the spinal cord.
Noun
- An anaesthetic injected near the spinal cord.
Word family
- spinally
- dorsispinal
- nonspinal
- intraspinal
- prespinal
- interspinal
- cerebrospinal
- corticospinal
Related words
- spine
- spinal cord
- spiny
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin