spiral
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle French spirale, from Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira, from Ancient Greek σπείρα (speíra, “wreath, coil, twist”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
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.
- 2015, Jane Ward, Not Gay, New York University Press, →ISBN, page xi:
- My beloved friends and family who sustained and grounded me as I fell into the rabbit hole of this project or down the spiral of new parenthood.
- (rail transport) A section of track that forms a circle and crosses over itself, used for gaining height in mountainous territory.
Translations edit
|
|
Adjective edit
spiral (not comparable)
- Helical, like a spiral.
- 1877, H. F. Blandford, Indian Meteorologist's Vade-mecum, page 140:
- The formation of tornados and water-spouts is very probably identical with that of dust-storms and "devils," viz., a sudden disturbance of the vertical equilibrium of the atmosphere, where by an upward rush of air is generated, which rapidly becomes spiral.
Translations edit
|
Verb edit
spiral (third-person singular simple present spirals, present participle (US) spiraling or (UK) spiralling, simple past and past participle (US) spiraled or (UK) spiralled)
- (intransitive) To move along the path of a spiral or helix.
- The falling leaves spiralled down from the tree.
- (transitive) To cause something to spiral.
- You need to learn how to spiral a ball.
- (figuratively, intransitive) To increase continually.
- Her debts were spiralling out of control.
Translations edit
|
Derived terms edit
- Archimedean spiral
- arithmetic spiral
- barred spiral galaxy
- death spiral
- defensive spiral
- downward spiral
- Ekman spiral
- equiangular spiral
- Fibonacci spiral
- flocculent spiral galaxy
- golden spiral
- graveyard spiral
- herb spiral
- inflationary spiral
- Knochenhauer spiral
- Langmuir spiral
- logarithmic spiral
- purity spiral
- red spiral galaxy
- Riess spiral
- spiral arm
- spiral-bound
- spiral cleavage
- spiral dance
- spiral dive
- spiral DRAGN
- spiral galaxy
- spiral ganglion
- spiral ginger
- Spiralia
- spiral nebula
- spiral of Archimedes
- spiral pass
- spiral staircase
- spiral valve
- spiral worm
- spiral wrack
- Steiner's spiral nematode
- superluminous spiral galaxy
- super spiral
- Ulam spiral
- upward spiral
Further reading edit
- Category:spirals on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Anagrams edit
Danish edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spiral c (singular definite spiralen, plural indefinite spiraler)
Declension edit
common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | spiral | spiralen | spiraler | spiralerne |
genitive | spirals | spiralens | spiralers | spiralernes |
Further reading edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
spiral (feminine spirale, masculine plural spiraux, feminine plural spirales)
Noun edit
spiral m (plural spiraux)
Further reading edit
- “spiral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Northern Sami edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spiral
Inflection edit
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Further reading edit
- Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages[1], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology edit
From Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira.
Noun edit
spiral m (definite singular spiralen, indefinite plural spiraler, definite plural spiralene)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “spiral” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology edit
From Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira.
Noun edit
spiral m (definite singular spiralen, indefinite plural spiralar, definite plural spiralane)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “spiral” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
spiral m or n (feminine singular spirală, masculine plural spirali, feminine and neuter plural spirale)
Declension edit
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | spiral | spirală | spirali | spirale | ||
definite | spiralul | spirala | spiralii | spiralele | |||
genitive/ dative |
indefinite | spiral | spirale | spirali | spirale | ||
definite | spiralului | spiralei | spiralilor | spiralelor |
Further reading edit
- spiral in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Swedish edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spiral c
- a spiral
- an intrauterine device, a coil (contraceptive device)
Declension edit
Declension of spiral | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | spiral | spiralen | spiraler | spiralerna |
Genitive | spirals | spiralens | spiralers | spiralernas |
Derived terms edit
- myggspiral (“mosquito repellent spiral”)
- spiraltrappa (“spiral staircase”)
See also edit
- dagen efter-piller (“morning-after pill”)
- kondom (“condom”)
- p-
- p-piller (“oral contraceptive pill”)
- preventivmedel (“contraceptive”)
References edit
- spiral in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- spiral in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- spiral in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)