(Zoologie) Stark entwickelte Haare (z.B. Igel, Stachelschwein), Schuppen (manche Fische), Hautzähne (Rochen) oder Anhänge des Hautskeletts (Stachelhäuter: Seeigel).
ETYM as. prica, pricca, pricu; akin to lg. prick, pricke, Dutch prik, Dan. prik, prikke, Swed. prick. Related to Prick.
1. That which pricks, or punctures; a pointed instrument; a goad; a spur, etc.; a point.
2. The act of pricking, or the sensation of being pricked; a sharp, stinging pain; figuratively, remorse.
3. A mark made by a pointed instrument; a puncture; a point.
4. A coarse and rude man; a jerk.
ETYM Latin spina thorn, the spine; akin to spica a point: cf. Old Fren. espine, French épine. Related to Spike, Spinet a musical instrument, Spinny.
A sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin.
The backbone of vertebrates. It consists of separate disk-shaped bony units (vertebrae), processes that enclose and protect the spinal cord. The spine connects with the skull, ribs, back muscles, and pelvis.
In humans, there are seven cervical vertebrae in the neck; 12 thoracic in the upper trunk; five lumbar in the lower back; the sacrum (consisting of five vertebrae fused together, joined to the hipbones); and the coccyx (four vertebrae, fused into a tailbone). The human spine has four curves (front to rear), which allow for the increased size of the chest and pelvic cavities, and for a degree of spring so as to minimize jolting of the internal organs.
ETYM as. sting a sting. Related to Sting.
1. A painful wound caused by the thrust of a stinger into skin; SYN. bite, insect bite.
2. Something as sudden and painful as a sting; SYN. stinging.
ETYM as. thorn; akin to os. and OFries. thorn, Dutch doorn, German dorn, Dan. torn, Swed. törne, Icel. thorn, Goth. thaúrnus; cf. Pol. tarn, Russ. tern the blackthorn, ternie thorns, Skr. torna grass, blade of grass.
1. A woody plant bearing sharp impeding processes (as prickles or spines); especially; hawthorn.
2. A sharp rigid process on a plant; specifically; a short, indurated, sharp-pointed, and leafless modified branch; any of various sharp spinose structures on an animal.
3. The runic letter X used in Old English and Middle English to represent either of the fricatives and in Icelandic to represent.
4. Something that causes distress or irritation — often used in the phrase thorn in one's side.
5. A Germanic character of runic origin.
ETYM Perhaps from French quille ninepin (see Kayless); but cf. also German kiel a quill. Mid. High Germ. kil, and Irish cuille a quill.
1. A bird's feather made into a pen for writing; SYN. quill pen.
2. A stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog.
3. The hollow shaft of a feather; SYN. calamus, shaft.
(Botanik) Ein Anhangsgebilde der Pflanzen, an dessen Bildung außer der Oberhaut auch tiefere Gewebsschichten beteiligt sind; z.B. bei den Rosen (die keine Dornen, sondern S. haben).