SPIRAL

coiling, helical, spiral, spiraling, volute, voluted, whorled, turbinate

(adjective) in the shape of a coil

spiral

(noun) flying downward in a helical path with a large radius

coil, spiral, volute, whorl, helix

(noun) a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; “a coil of rope”

spiral, volute

(noun) ornament consisting of a curve on a plane that winds around a center with an increasing distance from the center

spiral

(noun) a continuously accelerating change in the economy

spiral

(noun) a plane curve traced by a point circling about the center but at increasing distances from the center

helix, spiral

(noun) a curve that lies on the surface of a cylinder or cone and cuts the element at a constant angle

gyrate, spiral, coil

(verb) to wind or move in a spiral course; “the muscles and nerves of his fine drawn body were coiling for action”; “black smoke coiling up into the sky”; “the young people gyrated on the dance floor”

corkscrew, spiral

(verb) move in a spiral or zigzag course

spiral

(verb) form a spiral; “The path spirals up the mountain”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

spiral (plural spirals)

(geometry) A curve that is the locus of a point that rotates about a fixed point while continuously increasing its distance from that point.

(informal) A helix.

A self-sustaining process with a lot of momentum involved, so it is difficult to accelerate or stop it at once.

Adjective

spiral (not comparable)

Helical, like a spiral

Verb

spiral (third-person singular simple present spirals, present participle (UK) spiralling or (US) spiraling, simple past and past participle (UK) spiralled or (US) spiraled)

(intransitive) To move along the path of a spiral or helix.

(transitive) To cause something to spiral.

(figuratively, intransitive) To increase continually.

Anagrams

• Aprils, Plairs, prials

Source: Wiktionary

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Spi"ral, a. Etym: [Cf. F. spiral. See Spire a winding line.]

1. Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring.

2. Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like the thread of a screw; helical.

3. (Geom.)

Definition: Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral. Spiral gear, or Spiral wheel (Mach.), a gear resembling in general a spur gear, but having its teeth cut at an angle with its axis, or so that they form small portions of screws or spirals.

– Spiral gearing, a kind of gearing sometimes used in light machinery, in which spiral gears, instead of bevel gears, are used to transmit motion between shafts that are not parallel.

– Spiral operculum, an operculum whih has spiral lines of growth.

– Spiral shell, any shell in which the whorls form a spiral or helix.

– Spiral spring. See the Note under Spring, n., 4.

Spi"ral, n. Etym: [Cf. F. spirale. See Spiral, a.]

1. (Geom.)

Definition: A plane curve, not reëntrant, described by a point, called the generatrix, moving along a straight line according to a mathematical law, while the line is revolving about a fixed point called the pole. Cf. Helix.

2. Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell. Equiangular spiral,a plane curve which cuts all its generatrices at the same angle. Same as Logarithmic spiral, under Logarithmic.

– Spiral of Archimedes, a spiral the law of which is that the generatrix moves uniformly along the revolving line, which also moves uniformly.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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