RACHIS

noun (plural ~es; also rachides) Etymology: New Latin rachid-, ~, from Greek rhachis; akin to Greek rhachos thorn, Lithuanian ražas dry twig, tine Date: 1785 an axial structure: as, a. the elongated axis of an inflorescence, an extension of the petiole of a compound leaf that bears the leaflets, the distal part of the shaft of a feather that bears the web, spinal column