Spyne

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The column of vertebrae running down the back of an animal or person ; a sharp pointed projection such as a thorn on a plant
2. The jointed bony structure along the back that supports the body ; a stiff sharp point growing from a plant or animal
3. An archaic term for the vertebral column along the back ; a thin pointed growth like a thorn found on certain plants

Etymology: The spelling "spyne" is an older variant of "spine," which the Middle English period used alongside other forms of the same word. Its root meaning is "thorn," and the sense "backbone" grew out of the image of a row of thorny projections along the body. The thorn sense is still visible in botany, where "spine" names a sharp, pointed outgrowth on a plant. The word came into English from Old French "espine," which in turn descends from Latin "spina," meaning both "thorn" and "backbone." Because the Latin word already covered both ideas, the English term carried the same double meaning from the start. The "backbone" sense is the older and more common one in English today, while the "thorn" sense survives mainly in technical and natural-history use.