Etymograph

English

spine

Spine comes from Latin spīna ‘thorn’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘sharp point’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spey-1‘sharp point’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speinā1‘thorn’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīna2‘thorn’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espine3
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spyne3‘a spine’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838spine3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spina
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French espine
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English spine
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Samuel Hare, London: Simpkin: “[Describing scoliosis.] The integuments over the abdomen are folded…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spey-Wiktionary, Latin spina‘sharp point’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*speināWiktionary, Latin spina‘thorn’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspīnaWiktionary, Old French espine‘thorn’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espineWiktionary, English spine
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500spyneWiktionary, English spine‘a spine’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1838spineWiktionary, English spine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Samuel Hare, London: Simpkin: “[Describing scoliosis.] The integuments over the abdomen are folded…”

Linked words

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

spike, spinach, cusp, asp, spire, spigot, spica, aspic, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *speinā ‘thorn’

buckthorn, 12 more

through Latin spīna ‘thorn’

spinal, spina, 13 more

Today it means

noun A series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a human, or from the head to the tail of an animal, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin spina, Old French espine. 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-Indo-European *spey- / spine

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