spiculigenous (spikulijenus)

[L. spicu lum, a spicule, + -genus, producing: see -ge nous.] Producing spicules; giving origin to spicules; spiculiferous: as, the spiculigenous ti ue of a sponge. spiculigerous (spik-ū-lij'e-rus), a. [L. spicu lum, a spicule, + gerere, carry.] Same as spicu liferous. spiculose (spik'ū-lōs), a. [ spiculum (spik'u-lum), n.; pl. spicula (-la). [NL., spiculum , a little sharp point: see spicule.] In zoöl ., a spicula or spicule. Specifically-( a ) In some worms, a chitinous rod developed in the cloaca as a copulatory organ; a kind of penis. (b) In some mollusks, as snails, the love-dart, a kind of penis, more fully called spiculum amoris. (c) In insects, the piercing non-poisonous ovipositor of the Spiculifera . spicy (spi'si), a . [ spice1 +-yl.] 1. Producing spice; abounding with spices. As. off at sea north-east winds blow Sabæan odours from the spicy shore Of Araby the ble 'd. Milton , P. L., iv. 162. spicy 2. Having the qualities of spice; flavored with spice; fragrant; aromatic: as, spicy plants. The spicy nut-brown ale. Milton, L'Allegro, 1. 100. Under southern skies exalt their sails, Led by new stars, and borne by spicy gales! Pope, Windsor Forest, 1. 392. 3. Highly flavored; pungent; keen; pointed; racy: as, a spicy letter or debate. [Colloq.] Your hint about letter-writing for the papers is not a bad one. A political surmise, a spicy bit of scandal, a sensation trial, wound up with a few moral reflections upon how much better we do the same sort of thing at home. Lever, A Rent in a Cloud, p. 58. 4. Stylish; showy; smart in appearance: as, a spicy garment; to look spicy. [Slang.] "Ble 'd if there isn't Snipe dismounting at the gate!" he exclaimed joyfully; "there's a drummer holding his nag. What a spicy chestnut it is!" 5830 2. Some other arachnidan, resembling or mistaken for a spider; a spider-mite. See red spider.-3. A spider-crab; a sea-spider.-4. A cooking-utensil having legs or feet to keep it from contact with the coals: named from a fancied resemblance to the insect-the ordinary frying-pan is, however, sometimes erroneously termed a spider. (a) A kind of deep frying-pan, commonly with three feet. Some people like the sound of bubbling in a boiling pot, or the fizzing of a frying- spider . C. D. Warner , Backlog Studies, p. 10. Hash was warmed up in the spider . J. T. Trow bridge , Coupon Bonds, p. 113. (b) A trivet; a low tripod used to support a dish, or the like, in front of a fire. spider-flower (spi'der-flou"ėr), n. 1. A plant of the former genus Lasiandra of the Melas to maceæ, now included in Tibouchina. The species are elegant hothouse shrubs from Brazil, bearing large purple flowers. 2. A plant of the genus Cleome, especially C. spinosa ( C. pun gens ), a native of tropical America, escaped from gardens in the southern United States. The stipules are spinous, the flowers large, rose-purple to white, with long stamens and style, suggesting the name. See cut under Cleome. spider-fly (spīder-fli), n. A parasitic pupiparous dipterous insect, as a bee-louse, bat-louse, bird-louse, bat-fly, sheep-tick, etc. They are of three families, Braulidæ, Nycteribiidæ, and Hippoboscidæ. Some of them, especially the wingle forms, as Nycteribia, closely resemble spiders in superficial appearance. See cut under sheep - tick. =Syn. 3. Racy, Spicy. See racy.