spiky
Having one or more spikesHaving one or more spikes; spiny.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Speaker: Naomi Persephone Amethyst Recorder: NaomiAmethyst, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Ziri's ivy has big spiky leaves.
Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRTranslations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Examples
6 sentencesZiri's ivy has big spiky leaves.
The leaves of this ivy are very spiky.
Tom has spiky hair.
deTom hat stachelige Haare. — brauchinet
Meaning
7 sensesHaving one or more spikes; spiny.
stachelig, stachlig
Resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points; spikelike.
(figuratively)Of a person or their nature: difficult to deal with; abrasive, hostile, unfriendly.
a spiky personality
More meanings 4
(not comparable, usually)Of a plant: producing spikes (“ears (as of corn); inflorescences in which sessile flowers are arranged on unbranched elongated axes”).
(comparable, not comparable, usually)Of a plant part: resembling a spike of a plant (see above).
(figuratively)Of a thing: not smooth; rough, sharp.
(derogatory, figuratively, slang)Excessively high church (“practising a formal style of liturgy and emphasizing continuity with Catholicism”).
- having or as if having especially high-pitched spots
Origin
From spike (“kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranchedFrom spike (“kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense “having the quality of”). Spike is derived from Middle English spik, spike (“ear of grain; clove of garlic; plant having spikes; plant of the genus Valeriana, especially Valeriana officinalis; plant of the genus Lavandula, lavender”), from Latin spīca (“ear, head, or spike of grain; plant spike”) (feminine) (also rarely spīcum (neuter) and spīcus (masculine)), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“long; sharp; thin”).
From spike (“piece of pointed metal, etc.”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense “having the quality of”). Spike is derived from Middle English spik, spike (“large metal (usually iron) nail; thing shaped like such a nail”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Middle Dutch spiker (“large nail”), Middle Low German spiker (“large nail”), or Old Norse spík (“spike; sprig”), all possibly from Latin spīca (“ear, head, or spike of grain; plant spike”) (see further at etymology 1), or from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“large nail, spike”), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“long; sharp; thin”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
spikier/more spiky, spikiest/most spiky| Comparative | spikier / more spiky Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | spikiest / most spiky Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
2 synonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.