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volute - 6 dictionary results
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vo⋅lute

  [vuh-loot]
Use volute in a Sentence
–noun
1. a spiral or twisted formation or object.
2. Architecture. a spiral ornament, found esp. in the capitals of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders.
3. Carpentry. a horizontal scrolled termination to the handrail of a stair.
4. Zoology.
a. a turn or whorl of a spiral shell.
b. any of various tropical marine gastropods of the family Volutidae, many species of which have shells prized for their coloration.
5. the spiral casing surrounding the impeller of a volute pump.
–adjective
6. having a volute or rolled-up form.
7. Machinery.
a. spirally shaped or having a part so shaped.
b. moving in a circular way, esp. if combined with a lateral motion.
Origin:
1690–1700; (< F) < L volūta, fem. of volūtus, ptp. of volvere to turn. See revolve

Related forms:
vo⋅lut⋅ed, adjective
vo⋅lu⋅tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vo·lute   (və-lōōt')   
n.  
  1. A spiral scroll-like ornament such as that used on an Ionic capital.
    1. A spiral formation, such as one of the whorls of a gastropod shell.
    2. Any of various marine gastropod mollusks of the family Volutidae, having a spiral, often colorfully marked shell.

[French, from Italian voluta, from Latin volūta, from feminine past participle of volvere, to turn, roll; see wel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
vo·lut'ed (-lōō'tĭd) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Volute

Vo*lute"\, n. [F. volute (cf. It. voluta), L. voluta, from volvere, volutum, to roll. See Voluble.]

1. (Arch.) A spiral scroll which forms the chief feature of the Ionic capital, and which, on a much smaller scale, is a feature in the Corinthian and Composite capitals. See Illust. of Capital, also Helix, and Stale.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A spiral turn, as in certain shells.

3. (Zo["o]l.) Any voluta.

Volute spiring, a spring formed of a spiral scroll of plate, rod, or wire, extended or extensible in the direction of the axis of the coil, in which direction its elastic force is exerted and employed.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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volute 
1696, "spiral ornament on an Ionic capital," from Fr. volute, from It. voluta, from L. voluta "a spiral scroll," originally fem. pp. of volvere "to turn around, roll" (see vulva). Extended 1756 to any spiral thing or part. As a type of spiral seashell, it is attested from 1753.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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volute vo·lute (və-l&oomacr;t')
n.
A spiral formation, such as one of the whorls of a gastropod shell.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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volute

any marine snail of the family Volutidae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda). Most species have large, colourful shells, typically with an elongated aperture in the first whorl of the shell and a number of deep folds on the inner lip. Volutes are most common in warm, shallow waters but occur also in polar seas. Prized by collectors is the imperial volute (Aulica imperialis) of the Philippines; it is 25 cm (10 inches) long, with a spine-tipped body whorl finely checked with brown, and an outer lip that is wide and golden-lined.

Learn more about volute with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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