Webster's English Dictionary

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spine

spine \'spi-n\ n [ME, thorn, spinal column, fr. L spina; akin to Latvian 
   spina twig] 1a: SPINAL COLUMN  1b: something resembling a spinal column or 
   constituting a central axis or  chief support 1c: the backbone of a book  
   2: a stiff point plant process; esp : one that is a modified leaf o r leaf 
   part 3: a sharp rigid process on an animal : as  3a: SPICULE  3b: a stiff 
   unsegmented fin ray of a fish  3c: a pointed prominence on a bone