LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

spīna1

spīna f (genitive spīnae)
Classical[ˈspiː.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈspiː.na]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. thorn
  2. thorny tree or shrub
  3. thorn; spine; prickle
  4. fishbone
  5. backbone; spine
  6. barrier (low wall along the centre of the circus racecourse)
  7. a toothpick
  8. figurativelyin pluralthorns; difficulties; subtleties; perplexities in speaking and debating
    Iter pigrōrum quasi sēpēs spīnārum; via iūstōrum absque offendiculō. The way of the slothful is as a hedge of thorns; the way of the just is without offence. (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.: 1752 CE)c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.15.19
  9. figurativelyin pluralcares
  10. figurativelyin pluralerrors

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pars acūta plantae, quae manum laedit; rosa spīnās habet.
spīna -ae f — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae
ōrdō ossium, quī medium tergum sustinet
spīna -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 17

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativespīna
spīnula		spīnae
spīnulae
genitivespīnae
spīnulae		spīnārum
spīnulārum
dativespīnae
spīnulae		spīnīs
spīnulīs
accusativespīnam
spīnulam		spīnās
spīnulās
ablativespīnā
spīnulā		spīnīs
spīnulīs
vocativespīna
spīnula		spīnae
spīnulae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

disserendi spinae (Fin. 4. 28. 79)
subtleties of logic; dilemmas.
spinae partiendi et definiendi (Tusc. 5. 8. 22)
minute, captious subdivisions and definitions.

spīna, ae, f. root spī, whence also spicna, spīca, spinus,
I. a thorn.
I. Lit.: cum lubrica serpens Exuit in spinis vestem, Lucr. 4, 61; cf. Prop. 4 (5), 5, 1; Verg. E. 5, 39; Col. 3, 11, 5; Plin. 21, 15, 54, § 91 al.: consertum tegumen spinis, Verg. A. 3, 594; cf. Ov. M. 14, 166; id. P. 2, 2, 36; Tac. G. 17. —Of particular kinds of thorny plants or shrubs: solstitialis, Col. 2, 18, 1: alba, whitethorn, hawthorn, id. 7, 7, 2; 7, 9, 6; 3, 11, 5; Plin. 21, 11, 39, § 68; 24, 12, 66, § 108: Aegyptia, the Egyptian blackthorn or sloe, id. 13, 11, 20, § 66; 24, 12, 65, § 107: Arabica, Arabian acacia, id. 24, 12, 65, § 107.—
B. Transf., of things of a like shape.
1. A prickle or spine of certain animals (as the hedgehog, sea-urchin, etc.): animantium aliae coriis tectae sunt, aliae villis vestitae, aliae spinis hirsutae, Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 121: hystrices spinā contectae (with aculei), Plin. 8, 35, 53, § 125; 9, 59, 85, § 182: spinā nocuus, Ov. Hal. 130.—
2. A fish-bone: humus spinis cooperta piscium, Quint. 8, 3, 66; Ov. M. 8, 244.—
3. The backbone, spine: caput spina excipit: ea constat ex vertebris quattuor et viginti, etc., Cels. 8, 1; 8, 9, 2; 8, 14; Plin. 11, 37, 68, § 179; Varr. R. R. 2, 7, 5; Col. 6, 29, 2; Verg. G. 3, 87; Ov. M. 8, 806: dorsi spina, Aug. Civ. Dei, 19, 4, n. 2: spina quae est in dorso, Gell. 3, 10, 7.— Hence, poet., the back, Ov. M. 6, 380; 3, 66; 3, 672.—
4. Spina, a low wall dividing the circus lengthwise, around which was the race-course; the barrier, Cassiod. Var. 3, 51; Schol. Juv. 6, 588.—
5. A toothpick: argentea, Petr. 32 fin.—
II. Trop., in plur.
1. Thorns, i. e. difficulties, subtleties, perplexities in speaking and debating (class.): disserendi spinae, Cic. Fin. 4, 28, 79; cf.: partiendi et definiendi, subtleties, intricacies, id. Tusc. 4, 5, 9; cf.: hominum more non spinas vellentium, ut Stoici, id. Fin. 4, 3, 6.—
2. Cares: certemus, spinas animone ego fortius an tu Evellas agro, Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 4.—
3. Errors: quid te exemta juvat spinis de pluribus una, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 212.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *speinā, from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp point”).

Occitano-Romance
  • Catalanespina
  • Occitanespina
West Iberian
  • Portugueseespinhafrom Old Galician-Portuguese espinha
  • Spanishespina
  • Asturianespina
  • Falaespiñafrom Old Galician-Portuguese espinha
  • Falaispiñafrom Old Galician-Portuguese espinha
  • Galicianespiñafrom Old Galician-Portuguese espinha
Elsewhere
  • Frenchépinefrom Old French espine
  • Englishspinefrom Old French espine
  • Franco-Provençalèpena
  • Champenoisépingnefrom Old French espine
  • Venetanspina
  • Albanianshpinë
  • Irishspíonfrom Middle Irish spín
  • Scottish Gaelicspìonfrom Middle Irish spín
  • Polishspina
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianspina
  • Dalmatianspaina
  • Neapolitanspina
  • Sicilianspina
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianspine
  • Romanshspina
  • Romanshspegna
Sardinian
  • Campidanesespina
  • Logudoreseispina
proper noun · femininefirst declension
Spīna2
Spīna f sg (genitive Spīnae)
Classical[ˈspiː.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈspiː.na]

Meaning

  1. Spina (a city in Cisalpine Gaul, situated near the southernmost mouth of the Padus)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeSpīna—
genitiveSpīnae—
dativeSpīnae—
accusativeSpīnam—
ablativeSpīnā—
vocativeSpīna—
locativeSpīnae—

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

GeographySpinaSpina (Σπίνα, Strab.; Σπῖνα, Steph. B. sub voce: Eth. Σπινάτης and Eth. Σπινίτης), an ancient city of Italy, situated near the southernmost mouth of t…

Quick answers

What does spīna mean in Latin?
spīna, a noun, means “thorn; thorny tree or shrub; thorn”.
What is the genitive of spīna?
The genitive singular is spīnae. spīna is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce spīna?
In classical Latin, [ˈspiː.na]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈspiː.na].