spicule

Meanings

1. A sharp, needle-like piece.
2. A tiny glass flake formed during the manufacture of glass vials.
3. Any of many needle-like crystalline structures that provide skeletal support in marine invertebrates like sponges.
4. A needle-like mating structure found only in male nematodes.
5. A jet of matter ejected from the photosphere of the sun.
6. A small spike of flowers.
7. A unit of mass equal to 125 pounds.

Etymology

From Latin spīculum.