[spic.ule] n [NL spicula & L spiculum; NL spicula, alter. of L spiculum head of a spear or arrow, dim. of spicum, spica ear of grain] (1785) 1: a slender pointed usu. hard body; esp: one of the minute calcareous or siliceous bodies that support the tissue of various invertebrates (as a sponge)
2: a spikelike short-lived prominence appearing close to the chromosphere of the solar atmosphere -- spic.u.lar adj -- spic.u.la.tion n