Definition of "spiny"

spiny

/ˈspaɪni/

adjective
comparative spinier, superlative spiniest
1. Covered in spines or thorns.
2. Troublesome; difficult or vexing
  Quotations
  The spiney desarts of scholastic philosophy
  1727, William Warburton, Critical and Philosophical Enquiry into the Causes of Miracles
3. Like a spine in shape; slender.
  Quotations
  Spiny grasshoppers sit chirping.The spelling has been modernized.
  , Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. […], London: […] Nathaniell Butter; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, […], new edition, volumes (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], 1843,
noun
plural spinies
1. Archaic form of spinny.