Etymologically
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spine

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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
  • 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