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involute

involute


in·vo·lute    Audio Help   (ĭn'və-lōōt')   

adj.  

  1. Intricate; complex.

  2. Botany

    1. Having the margins rolled inward.

    2. Having whorls that obscure the axis or other volutions, as the shell of a cowrie.

intr.v.   in·vo·lut·ed, in·vo·lut·ing, in·vo·lutes

  1. To curl inward.

  2. To return to a normal or former condition.

n.   The curve traced by a point on a taut, inextensible string as it unwinds from another curve.

[Latin involūtus, past participle of involvere, to enwrap; see involve.]
in'vo·lute'ly adv.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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