Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

spiclum, i, v. spiculum.

spīcŭlum (contr. spīclum, perh. Mart. Cap. 9, § 903, or p. 306 Grot., where, however, Kopp and others read spicum; v. spica, II. D.), i, n. dim. [spicum], a little sharp point or sting (syn.: mucro, acus, aculeus).

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen., of bees, Verg. G. 4, 237; 4, 74.
      Of a scorpion, Ov. F. 5, 542: (scorpio) solus (insectorum) habet in caudā spiculum, Plin. 11, 28, 34, § 100.
      Of hornets, Ov. M. 11, 335: rosarum spicula, thorns, Mart. Cap. 2, § 132.
    2. B. In partic., the point of a missile weapon (as a dart, arrow, etc.): Epaminondas tum denique sibi avelli jubet spiculum, posteaquam, etc., Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 5; cf. Quint. 5, 10, 51; 5, 12, 2: hastarum spicula, Ov. M. 8, 375: bipalme spiculum, Liv. 42, 65, 9: calami spicula Gnosii Vitabis, Hor. C. 1, 15, 17: L. Crassus spiculis prope scrutatus est Alpes, Cic. Pis. 26, 62: spicula sagittae, barbs, Cels. 7, 5, n. 2.
  2. II. Meton. (pars pro toto), a dart, arrow (syn. jaculum): Laoedaemonii suos omnes agros esse dictitarunt, quos spiculo possent attingere, Cic. Rep. 3, 9, 15; so of a javelin, Verg. A. 7, 165; 7, 687; of an arrow, id. E. 10, 60; id. A. 7, 497; Ov. M. 12, 601; 12, 606; 13, 54; Sil. 17, 133; 3, 273; cf. Plin. 27, 13, 115, § 141; of Cupid’s arrow, Prop. 2, 13 (3, 4), 2; Ov. Am. 1, 1, 22; id. A. A. 2, 708 al.
    Also a later name for the pilum: quod pilum vocabant, nunc spiculum dicitur, Veg. Mil. 2, 15.
    Poet.: solis, a ray or beam of the sun, Prud. Cath. 2, 6.