spine

Meanings

• the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
• any sharply pointed projection
• a small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf
• the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved
  • "the title and author were printed on the spine of the book"
• a sharp rigid animal process or appendage; as a porcupine quill or a ridge on a bone or a ray of a fish fin

Synonyms

acantha, back, backbone, pricker, prickle, rachis, spikelet, spinal column, spur, sticker, thorn, vertebral column