Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spine” come from?

Spine comes from Middle English spyne, from Old French espine, from Latin spina, from Proto-Italic speinā, from Proto-Indo-European spey-.

spine (English): The series of bones situated at the back from the...

Definitions

  1. The series of bones situated at the back from the...

Ancestry of “spine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishspyneA spine
2Old Frenchespinespine; backbone; spine; spike
3Latinspīna—
4Proto-Italicspeinā—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanspēy-to stretch; thrive; succeed

Words derived from “spine”

  • spinous
  • spiny
  • spineless
  • spined
  • interspinous
  • supraspinous
  • sacrospinous
  • spinelessness
  • spinelike
  • aspiny
  • spinelessly
  • spinescent
  • spininess
  • subspinous
  • spinetail
  • spinebill
  • spinate
  • unspined
  • fourspine
  • spinefoot
  • spiniferous
  • superspinous
  • spinoid
  • macrospinous
Every word from Proto-Indo-European spēy- →