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  1. vertebra love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Any of the bones or cartilaginous segments forming the spinal column.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. In Vertebrata, any bone of the spine; any segment of the backbone. See backbone and spine. Specifically— Broadly, any axial metamere of a vertebrate, whether osseous, cartilaginous, or merely fibrous, including the segments of the skull as well as those of the trunk.
  2. n. In echinoderms, any one of the numerous axial ossicles of the arms of starfishes. See vertebral, a.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any of the small bones which make up the backbone.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Anat.) One of the serial segments of the spinal column.
  2. n. (Zoöl.) One of the central ossicles in each joint of the arms of an ophiuran.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. one of the bony segments of the spinal column

Etymologies

  1. From Latin vertebra ("joint"), from vertere, "to turn". Having multiple vertebrae (plural of vertebra) in one's backbone instead of having a single bone or solid spine, allows for the movement of the body with bends and turns. Hence meaning 1. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Latin, from vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Very good explanation of why the vertebra is probably "lost", BTW.”

    Biggest sauropod ever (part…. II)

  • “Alas, the 1060 mm that I gave in those two articles is, while not technically incorrect, not the standardised ‘total length’ of the specimen for, rather than including prezygapophysis length, the standard way of measuring a sauropod vertebra is to stick to centrum length alone.”

    ‘Angloposeidon’, the unreported story, part II

  • “In the previous post I introduced the long, tedious, much-delayed technical project on MIWG. 7306, a giant brachiosaurid cervical vertebra from the Isle of Wight.”

    ‘Angloposeidon’, the unreported story, part II

  • “A giant brachiosaurid cervical vertebra from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous) of southern England.”

    ‘Angloposeidon’, the unreported story, part IV

  • “In the photo above, Luis is holding a caudal vertebra from a hadrosaurid that bears a deep score mark across its surface.”

    Archive 2006-02-01

  • “A brachiosaurid sauropod vertebra from the Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Lower Cretaceous) of Sudmoor Point”

    ‘Angloposeidon’, the unreported story, part IV

  • “The enigmatic one featuring the vertebra is from sauropod worker Mike P. Taylor; the festive dromaeosaur is from (... who else) Luis Rey; the hat-wearing Mantellisaurus is from Simon Clabby (Mantellisaurus is the iguanodont dinosaur formerly known as Iguanodon atherfieldensis.”

    Archive 2006-12-01

  • “After taking an X-ray, the doctors discovered that I broke the tip of my spine and C1 vertebra, which is at the base of the skull.”

    Simon & Schuster: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball

  • “Many stomach problems may be due to a misalignment of the sixth thoracic vertebra, which is covered in my articles on the spinal column.”

    The Stomach: A Very Complex Organ

  • “One in five women who break a vertebra of the spine will have another spinal fracture within the year, possibly leading to a fracture cascade that could leave them with a hump like Grandma.”

    Simon & Schuster: You Staying Young

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

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‘vertebra’ has been looked up 1199 times, added to 9 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 13.