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.

spīcŭla, ae, f. dim. [spica], a plant, called also chamaepitys, ground-pine, App. Herb. 26.

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.

* spīcŭlus, a, um, adj. [spiculum], pointed: non lucernae spiculo lumine opus est, Tert. Pudic. 7 fin.