spica

spica
/spuy"keuh/, n., pl. spicae /-see/, spicas for 1, 2.
1. spike2.
2. a type of bandage in the shape of a figure eight, extending from an extremity to the trunk.
3. (cap.) Astron. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Virgo.
[1350-1400; ME < L spica lit., ear of grain; cf. SPIKE2]

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star
(Latin: Head of Grain),also called  Alpha Virginis,  

      brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Virgo and one of the 15 brightest in the entire sky, having an apparent visual magnitude of 0.98. It is a bluish star; spectroscopic examination reveals Spica to be a binary with a four-day period, its two components being of the first and third magnitudes, respectively. Spica lies about 260 light-years from the Earth.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • spica — spica …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • spica — [ spika ] n. m. • 1707; n. f. 1555; mot lat. « épi » ♦ Méd. Bandage croisé (à la façon des épillets de blé), appliqué au niveau de la racine d un membre. ● spica nom masculin (latin spica, épi) Sorte de bandage croisé appliqué au niveau de la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • špica — špȉca ž <G mn špȋcā> DEFINICIJA reg. 1. vrh, vršak, šiljak 2. glavni naslov s popisom glumaca i ostalih suradnika na početku filma [najavna špica] 3. vrhunac čega [špica sezone] 4. vrijeme najintenzivnijeg gradskog prometa kad se ide na… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • SPICA — S.p.A. (Società Pompe Iniezione Cassani Affini) was an Italian manufacturer of fuel injection systems. The company was founded by Francesco Cassaniin 1932.Cite web|url=http://www.cefriel.it/en/gazette/archive/2006 02/passionForTractors.html|title …   Wikipedia

  • spica — spȉca ž DEFINICIJA bot., v. klas ETIMOLOGIJA lat. Spica: Klas, najsvjetlija zvijezda u zviježđu Djevica …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Spica — Spi ca, n.; pl. {Spic[ae]}. [L., an ear, as of corn.] 1. (Med.) A kind of bandage passing, by successive turns and crosses, from an extremity to the trunk; so called from its resemblance to a spike of a barley. [1913 Webster] 2. (Astron.) A star… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spica — (lat.), 1) Ähre (s.d.); 2) Art der Pflanzengattung [539] Lavandula; 3) (Chir.), Binde, s. Kornähre 2); 4) Stern zweiter Größe vom Sternbild der Jungfrau (s.d. 3) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Spica [1] — Spica (lat.), Ähre, eine Form des Blütenstandes (s. d.); spicatus, in eine Ähre zusammengestellt …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Spica [2] — Spica (Kornähre), der hellste Stern (α) im Sternbilde der Jungfrau (s. d.) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Spica — Spica,   der Stern Spika …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Spica — 1728, bright star in constellation Virgo, from L., lit. ear of grain, corresponding to Gk. stakhys (see SPIKE (Cf. spike) (n.1)) …   Etymology dictionary

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