spiky

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• General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈspaɪki/
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• Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -aɪki
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• CMU ARPABET: S P AY1 K IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From 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”).

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Finnish: tähkä- — of a plant: producing spikes
• Finnish: tähkivä — of a plant: producing spikes
• Finnish: tähkämäinen — of a plant part: resembling a spike of a plant
• Bulgarian: покрит с шипове (pokrit s šipove) — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Catalan: punxegut — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Finnish: piikikäs — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• French: piquant — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• German: stachelig — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• German: stachlig — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Italian: munito di punte — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Kazakh: ұшты (ūşty) — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Latin: spīnōsus — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Māori: makao — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Portuguese: espinhoso — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Spanish: puntiagudo — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Spanish: hirsuto — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Spanish: híspido — having one or more spikes — see also spiny
• Finnish: piikkimäinen — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: chuzo — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: de punta — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: parado — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: pincho — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: hirsuto — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: cashato — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points
• Spanish: híspido — resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points