vertebra

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vertebra

/ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/ UK
/ˈvɝ.təb.ɹə/ US
/ˈvɝ.təˌbɹeɪ/ US

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)tɪbɹə

Where it comes from

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.

noun vertebrae · vertebræ · vertebras

Any 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. 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
Similar: spondyle, vertebra

Translations

Every language

noun any of the small bones making up the backbone

Español	vértebra
한국어	척추 cheokchu
日本語	椎骨 tsuikotsu
中文	椎骨 zhuīgǔ, 脊椎 jǐzhuī, 脊椎骨 jǐzhuīgǔ
Português	vértebra
Français	vertèbre
Deutsch	Wirbel, Wirbelknochen
Italiano	vertebra
Ελληνικά	σπόνδυλος spóndylos
Română	vertebră
Русский	позвоно́к pozvonók
العربية	فَقَرَة faqara
עברית	חֻלְיָה ẖulyá

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MLA

"vertebra." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/vertebra. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

vertebra. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/vertebra

Chicago

"vertebra." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/vertebra.

BibTeX

@misc{vertebra_2026,
  title = {vertebra},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/vertebra},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}