spiky

adj

Etymology: From spike (“piece of pointed metal, etc.”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense “having the quality of”). Spike is derived from Middle English spik, spike (“large metal (usually iron) nail; thing shaped like such a nail”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Middle Dutch spiker (“large nail”), Middle Low German spiker (“large nail”), or Old Norse spík (“spike; sprig”), all possibly from Latin spīca (“ear, head, or spike of grain; plant spike”) (see further at etymology 1), or from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“large nail, spike”), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“long; sharp; thin”).

1. Having one or more spikes; spiny.

   “The ſpiky VVheels thro' Heaps of Carnage tore; / And thick the groaning Axles dropp'd vvith Gore.”

   “Three ornithischian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of North America may be growth stages of the same one species. Dracorex is smallest and spikiest. Stygimoloch is medium-sized and has the longest horns. Pachycephalosaurus is the biggest and also the least spikiest, but it has the largest, thickest dome.”

2. Resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points; spikelike.

   “[I]f ten thousand of this spiky tree, the larch, are stuck in at once upon the side of a hill, they can grow up into nothing but deformity; […]”

   “At first, he slept heavily, but, by degrees, began to roll and surge in bed, until he rose above the surface, with his spiky hair looking as if it must tear the sheets to ribbons.”

3. Of a person or their nature: difficult to deal with; abrasive, hostile, unfriendly.

   “a spiky personality”

4. Of a thing: not smooth; rough, sharp.

   “It started with Ron [Phillips] soloing on "He Wasn't Talking to Me," a quiet and wistful ballad that segued into the upbeat and spiky "Give Me a Man Who's Glad to Be Gay." This was a pride anthem about being gay with a few nudges at those carrying their closets with them to the bars (Straight looking marine seeks/straight looking cop to please/How straight can they look/when they're down on their knees?).”

5. Excessively high church (“practising a formal style of liturgy and emphasizing continuity with Catholicism”).

   “I wondered if this meant he was a spiky Anglo-Catholic, which seemed a little unlikely, given that Norfolk's spiky hotspots are well-known.”

   “That was when pink gin was still a favoured drink among Anglo-Catholics, and no self-respecting spiky curate could be without it.”