Etymograph

English

spicate

Spicate comes from Latin spicatus ‘spiky, having been furnished with spikes’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *speikā.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speikā1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīca2‘a head, ear, spike’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspicatus3‘spiky, having been furnished with spikes’
  4. Englishtodayspicate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spica
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin spicatus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English spicate

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speikāWiktionary, Latin spicareconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīcaWiktionary, Latin spicatus‘a head, ear, spike’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspicatusWiktionary, English spicate‘spiky, having been furnished with spikes’
  4. EnglishtodayspicateWiktionary, English spicate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘sharp’

spike, spine, spinal, spinach, cusp, asp, spire, spina, buckthorn, aspic, 28 more

through Latin spīca ‘a head, ear, spike’

spigot, 5 more

Today it means

adj Having the form of a spike, or ear; arranged in a spike or spikes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spicate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin spica, Latin spicatus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *speikā / spicate

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