spigot joint

[FAUCET-JOINT.] spike (1), *spycke, *spyke, s . [Lat. spica =an ear of corn, a point, a spike. Cf. Irish pice ; Gael. pic; Wel. pig ; Icel. spik ; Sw. spik ; Dan. spiger ; Ger.spieker; Dut. spijker a nail. All due to Lat. spica =an ear of corn, a point, a pike.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. An ear of corn or grain. "The gleaners spread around, and here and there, Spike after spike, their scanty harvest pick.' Thomson: Autumn, 166. 2. A large nail or pin, usually of iron, but sometimes of wood. "Sometimes, however, nails much smaller than a spike would still be taken in exchange for fruit."-Cook: Third Voyage , bk. iii., ch. viii. 3. A piece of pointed iron, like a long nail, inserted with the point outward, as on the tops of walls, gates, ., to prevent persons from pa ing over them. IMG:content-0035.png:[blocks in formation] spike-rush, s. Bot.: The genus Eleocharis.