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spi·ral
[spahy-ruhl] noun, adjective, verb, -raled, -ral·ing or (especially British) -ralled, -ral·ling. noun
1.
Geometry. a plane curve generated by a point moving around a fixed point while constantly receding from or approaching it.
2.
a helix.
3.
a single circle or ring of a spiral or helical curve or object.
4.
a spiral or helical object, formation, or form.
5.
EXPANDAeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a helix of small pitch and large radius, with the angle of attack within that of the normal flight range.
6.
Football. a type of kick or pass in which the ball turns on its longer axis as it flies through the air.
7.
COLLAPSEEconomics. a continuous increase in costs, wages, prices, etc. (inflationary spiral), or a decrease in costs, wages, prices, etc. (deflationary spiral).
adjective
8.
running continuously around a fixed point or center while constantly receding from or approaching it; coiling in a single plane: a spiral curve.
9.
coiling around a fixed line or axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical.
10.
of or of the nature of a spire or coil.
11.
bound with a spiral binding; spiral-bound: a spiral notebook.
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Spirals
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
verb (used without object)
12.
to take a spiral form or course.
13.
to advance or increase steadily; rise: Costs have been spiraling all year.
14.
Aeronautics. to fly an airplane through a spiral course.
verb (used with object)
15.
to cause to take a spiral form or course.
Origin:
1545–55; < Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) coil (< Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire2) + -ālis -al1
1545–55; < Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) coil (< Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire2) + -ālis -al1
Related forms
spi·ral·ly, adverb
mul·ti·spi·ral, adjective
non·spi·ral, adjective, noun
sub·spi·ral, adjective
EXPANDsub·spi·ral·ly, adverb
un·spi·ral, adjective
un·spi·ral·ly, adverb
un·spi·raled, adjective
un·spi·ralled, adjective
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Spirals
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spiral
1551, from M.Fr. spiral, from M.L. spiralis "winding, coiling" (1255), from L. spira "coil," from Gk. speira "coil, twist, wreath," from PIE *sper- "to turn, twist." The verb is attested from 1834; the fig. sense is from 1922. The noun is first recorded 1656; U.S. football sense is from 1896. Spiral
EXPAND galaxy first attested 1913.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
spiral spi·ral (spī'rəl)
adj.
Coiling or developing around an axis in a constantly changing series of planes; helical. n.
A structure in the shape of a coil. v. spi·raled or spi·ralled, spi·ral·ing or spi·ral·ling, spi·rals or spi·rals
To take the form or course of a spiral.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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