Meanings
plural vertebrae · obsolete plural vertebræ · plural vertebras
- anatomyAny of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord.
1 more example
Already I seemed to hear the water rippling against the desiccated bones and rattling them together, rolling my skull against Mahomed's, and his against mine, till at last Mahomed's stood straight up upon its vertebræ, and glared at me through its empty eyeholes, and cursed me with its grinning jaws, because I, a dog of a Christian, disturbed the last sleep of a true believer.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLCSynonyms: spondyle
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of the bony or cartilaginous segments which make up the backbone, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*wert-
- Proto-Indo-European*wértetor
- Proto-Italic*wertō
- Latinvertō
- Proto-Italic*ðrā
- Latinvertebra
- Englishvertebra
Borrowing from Latin vertebra (“a joint”), from vertō (“to turn”) + -bra (instrumental nominal suffix). Having multiple vertebrae (plural of vertebra) in one's backbone instead of having a single bone or solid spine, allows for the movement of the body with bends and turns. Hence meaning 1.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans werwel
- werwelany of the small bones making up the backbone
Ancient Greek σφόνδυλος
- σφόνδυλος (sphóndulos)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Arabic فَقَرَة
- فَقَرَة (faqara)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Bulgarian гръбначен прешлен
- гръбначен прешлен (grăbnačen prešlen)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Catalan vèrtebra
- vèrtebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Chinese Mandarin 椎骨, 脊椎
- 椎骨 (zhuīgǔ)any of the small bones making up the backbone
- 脊椎 (jǐzhuī)any of the small bones making up the backbone
- 脊椎骨 (jǐzhuīgǔ)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Czech obratel
- obratelany of the small bones making up the backbone
Danish ryghvirvel
- ryghvirvelany of the small bones making up the backbone
Dutch wervel, rugwervel
- wervelany of the small bones making up the backbone
- rugwervelany of the small bones making up the backbone
- ruggengraatswervelany of the small bones making up the backbone
Finnish nikama, selkänikama
- nikamaany of the small bones making up the backbone
- selkänikamaany of the small bones making up the backbone
French vertèbre
- vertèbreany of the small bones making up the backbone
German Wirbel, Wirbelknochen
- Wirbelany of the small bones making up the backbone
- Wirbelknochenany of the small bones making up the backbone
Greek σπόνδυλος
- σπόνδυλος (spóndylos)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Hebrew חֻלְיָה
- חֻלְיָה (ẖulyá)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Hungarian csigolya
- csigolyaany of the small bones making up the backbone
Irish veirteabra
- veirteabraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Italian vertebra
- vertebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Japanese 椎骨
- 椎骨 (tsuikotsu)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Korean 척추
- 척추 (cheokchu)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Latin vertebra
- vertebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Latvian skriemelis
- skriemelisany of the small bones making up the backbone
Māori tangai
- tangaiany of the small bones making up the backbone
Norwegian ryggvirvel
- ryggvirvelany of the small bones making up the backbone
Persian مهره
- مهره (mohre)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Polish kręg
- kręgany of the small bones making up the backbone
Portuguese vértebra
- vértebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Romanian vertebră
- vertebrăany of the small bones making up the backbone
Russian позвоно́к
- позвоно́к (pozvonók)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Scottish Gaelic cnàimh an droma, dromaltach
- cnàimh an dromaany of the small bones making up the backbone
- dromaltachany of the small bones making up the backbone
Slovak stavec
- stavecany of the small bones making up the backbone
Spanish vértebra
- vértebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Swedish ryggkota, kota
- ryggkotaany of the small bones making up the backbone
- kotaany of the small bones making up the backbone
Tagalog gulugod
- gulugodany of the small bones making up the backbone
Tamil முள்ளெலும்பு
- முள்ளெலும்பு (muḷḷelumpu)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Turkish omur, mühre
- omurany of the small bones making up the backbone
- mühreany of the small bones making up the backbone
Ukrainian хребе́ць
- хребе́ць (xrebécʹ)any of the small bones making up the backbone
Welsh cefngymal, fertebra
- cefngymalany of the small bones making up the backbone
- fertebraany of the small bones making up the backbone
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with vertebra
All rhymes →Cite this entry
vertebra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebra
“vertebra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebra. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vertebra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vertebra.
Source: vertebra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.