VERTEBRA


Meaning of VERTEBRA in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈvər-tə-brə, -ˌbrā ]

noun

( plural ver·te·brae -ˌbrā, -(ˌ)brē, -brə ; or -bras )

Etymology: Latin, joint, vertebra, from vertere to turn

Date: 1578

: one of the bony or cartilaginous segments composing the spinal column, 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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.