spur (redirected from spur-of-the-moment)

spur

1. a pointed device or sharp spiked wheel fixed to the heel of a rider's boot to enable him to urge his horse on

2. a sharp horny projection from the leg just above the claws in male birds, such as the domestic cock

3. a pointed process in any of various animals; calcar

4. a tubular extension at the base of the corolla in flowers such as larkspur

5. a short or stunted branch of a tree

6. a ridge projecting laterally from a mountain or mountain range

7. another name for groyne

8. a railway branch line or siding

9. a short side road leading off a main road

10. a sharp cutting instrument attached to the leg of a gamecock

11. win one's spurs History to earn knighthood

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spur [spər]

(botany)

A hollow process at the base of a petal or sepal.

A short fruit-bearing tree branch.

A short projecting root.

(geology)

A ridge or rise projecting from a larger elevational feature.

(hydrology)

ram

(mathematics)

trace

(physics)

A cluster of ionized molecules near the path of an energetic charged particle, consisting of the molecule ionized directly by the charged particle, and secondary ionizations produced by electrons released in the primary ionization; it usually forms a side track from the path of the particle.

(zoology)

A stiff, sharp outgrowth, as on the legs of certain birds and insects.

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SPUR - An early system on the IBM 650. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)].