vertebra
Meaning
Any of the small bones that are connected together to form the backbone.
Structure
Usage
The surgeon carefully examined the damaged vertebra in the patient's neck.
A slipped vertebra can cause significant pain and nerve compression.
Humans typically have thirty-three vertebrae at birth, though some fuse together later in life.
Etymology
The word 'vertebra' originates from the Latin vertebra, which means 'a joint, a turning point', derived from the verb vertere, 'to turn'. This root, vertere, can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European wert-, meaning 'to turn, to rotate'. The anatomical term was adopted because the individual bones of the spine are connected by joints that allow for turning and bending. Thus, the modern meaning of a segment of the backbone logically evolved from the ancient concept of a part that enables turning.
Analysis
'vertebr' is from Latin vertebra, from vertere meaning 'to turn'. The '-a' is a Latin noun-forming suffix.