Etymograph

English

spinule

Spinule comes from Latin spīna ‘a spine’, from Proto-Italic *speinā ‘thorn’, and ultimately from 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‘a spine’
  4. Late Latinmodernspīnula2
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1852spinule2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spina
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English spinule
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1852, James Dwight Dana: “Alongside of the pairs, there is often another smaller…”.

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, English spinule‘a spine’
  4. Late LatinmodernspīnulaWiktionary, English spinule
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1852spinuleWiktionary, English spinule. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1852, James Dwight Dana: “Alongside of the pairs, there is often another smaller…”

The story

Anglicized form of Late Latin spīnula, diminutive of Latin spīna (‘a spine’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

spike, spinach, cusp, asp, spire, spigot, spica, aspic, 26 more

through Proto-Italic *speinā ‘thorn’

buckthorn, spinel, 10 more

through Latin spīna ‘a spine’

spine, spinal, spina, 12 more

Today it means

noun A minute spine or thorn.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “spinule”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin spina. 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- / spinule

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