spine

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spaɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French espine (“thorn, prickle, backbone”) (modern French épine) and directly Latin spīna (“thorn, prickle, backbone”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} whose first sense was thorn.^[2][3] It is cognate with Latvian spina (“twig, switch”) and Middle High German spenel (“pin, needle”),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *spīnā in Barnhart, or Proto-Indo-European *spein- in de Vaan, as cited by Etymonline.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The backbone: about 1400, in a translation of Lanfranc's Science of Surgery;^[2][3] the sense was rare before the 17th century.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

A thorn-like part is from the early 15th century,^[2][3] and in botany a stiff, sharp outgrowth from 1430–40.^[7] Zoologists used it for pointed outgrowths from 1721, then for hedgehog prickles (1753) and fin spines (1774).^[7] The back of a book is a spine by 1920, in advertisements for book-cover protectors.^[3][8] In Latin the plural also meant difficulties.^[3] Spinal is from 1578.^[2] Spinney goes back to a Latin word for a thicket, from spīna.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – the backbone.^[2][3]
• early 15th century – a thorn-like part.^[3]
• 1430–40 – a spine (botany).^[7]
• 1578 – spinal.^[2]
• 1753 – a hedgehog's spines.^[7]
• by 1920 – the spine of a book.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The spinal column; the backbone.
2. A pointed outgrowth of an animal, such as a porcupine's quill or a fin ray.
3. A stiff, sharp-pointed outgrowth of a stem or leaf; a thorn.
4. The back of a book, where the pages are bound.
5. A ridge, especially of a hill.
6. Strength of will or character; courage.
7. Something like a backbone in function or importance; a main support.

Word family

• spined
• spinelike
• spine-chilling
• spinal
• spineless
• spinose
• spinous
• spiny

Related words

• spina bifida
• spinal canal
• spinal column
• spinal cord
• spiniferous
• spinule
• spinney
• spike
• spinach

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press