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Webster 1913 Edition


Spiral

Spi′ral

,
Adj.
[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.)
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
,
Noun.
, 4.

Spi′ral

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
spirale
. See
Spiral
,
Adj.
]
1.
(Geom.)
A plane curve, not reentrant, 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.

Webster 1828 Edition


Spiral

SPI'RAL

,
Adj.
[L. spira, a spire.] Winding round a cylinder or other round body, or in a circular form, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like a screw. The magnificent column in the Place Vendeme, at Paris, is divided by a spiral line into compartments. It is formed with spiral compartments, on which are engraved figures emblematical of the victories of the French armies. A whirlwind is so named from the spiral motion of the air. Water in a tunnel descends in a spiral form.

Definition 2024


spiral

spiral

See also: spirál

English

Archimedean spiral

Noun

spiral (plural spirals)

  1. (geometry) A curve that is the locus of a point that rotates about a fixed point while continuously increasing its distance from that point.
  2. (informal) A helix.
  3. A self-sustaining process with a lot of momentum involved, so it is difficult to accelerate or stop it at once.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

spiral (not comparable)

  1. Helical, like a spiral

Translations

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To move along the path of a spiral or helix.
    The falling leaves spiralled down from the tree.
  2. (transitive) To cause something to spiral.
    You need to learn how to spiral a ball.
  3. (figuratively, intransitive) To increase continually.
    Her debts were spiralling out of control.

Translations

Anagrams


French

Adjective

spiral m (feminine singular spirale, masculine plural spiraux, feminine plural spirales)

  1. spiral

Noun

spiral m (plural spiraux)

  1. spiral

Northern Sami

Noun

spiral

  1. hip

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.