from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Spike \Spike\, n. [Akin to LG. spiker, spieker, a large nail, D.
spijker, Sw. spik, Dan. spiger, Icel. sp[imac]k; all perhaps
from L. spica a point, an ear of grain; but in the sense of
nail more likely akin to E. spoke of a wheel. Cf. {Spine}.]
1. A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron
set with points upward or outward.
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2. Anything resembling such a nail in shape.
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He wears on his head the corona radiata . . .; the
spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun.
--Addison.
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3. An ear of corn or grain.
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4. (Bot.) A kind of flower cluster in which sessile flowers
are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
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{Spike grass} (Bot.), either of two tall perennial American
grasses ({Uniola paniculata}, and {Uniola latifolia})
having broad leaves and large flattened spikelets.
{Spike rush}. (Bot.) See under {Rush}.
{Spike shell} (Zool.), any pteropod of the genus {Styliola}
having a slender conical shell.
{Spike team}, three horses, or a horse and a yoke of oxen,
harnessed together, a horse leading the oxen or the span.
[U.S.]
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