spiral

• POS: Adjective, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: spir=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

spiral, a. [Cf. F. spiral. See Spire a winding line.].

•  Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring.  [1913 Webster]
•  Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like the thread of a screw; helical.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral.  [1913 Webster]

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.

spiral, n. [Cf. F. spirale. See Spiral, a.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell.  [1913 Webster]

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.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

spiral, adj., n., & v.
--adj.
1 winding about a centre in an enlarging or decreasing continuous circular motion, either on a flat plane or rising in a cone; coiled.
2 winding continuously along or as if along a cylinder, like the thread of a screw.
--n.
1 a plane or three-dimensional spiral curve.
2 a spiral spring.
3 a spiral formation in a shell etc.
4 a spiral galaxy.
5 a progressive rise or fall of prices, wages, etc., each responding to an upward or downward stimulus provided by the other (a spiral of rising prices and wages).
--v. (spiralled, spiralling; US spiraled, spiraling)
1 intr. move in a spiral course, esp. upwards or downwards.
2 tr. make spiral.
3 intr. esp. Econ. (of prices, wages, etc.) rise or fall, esp. rapidly (cf. sense 5 of n.).

Idiom

spiral balance a device for measuring weight by the torsion of a spiral spring. spiral galaxy a galaxy in which the matter is concentrated mainly in one or more spiral arms. spiral staircase a staircase rising in a spiral round a central axis.

Derivative

spirality n. spirally adv.

Etymology

F spiral or med.L spiralis (as SPIRE(2))

THESAURUS

spiral

Milky Way, O-shaped, Via Lactea, acrobatics, aerobatics, ambagious, anfractuous, arise, ascend, aspire, backhanded, bank, banking, barred spiral, barred spiral galaxy, become airborne, chandelle, circle, circling, circuit, circuiteer, circuition, circuitous, circuitousness, circuitry, circular, circularity, circulate, circulation, circumambience, circumambiency, circumambulate, circumambulation, circumflexion, circumlocution, circummigrate, circummigration, circumnavigate, circumnavigation, circumvent, cirrus, claw skyward, close the circle, cochlear, cochleate, coil, coiled, come full circle, come up, compass, corkscrew, corkscrewy, cosmic noise, crab, crabbing, curl, curl upwards, curlicue, cycle, describe a circle, deviance, deviancy, deviating, deviation, deviative, devious, deviousness, digression, digressive, dip, discursive, dive, diving, encircle, encompass, entwine, evolute, excursion, excursive, excursus, feather, fishtail, fishtailing, flank, float, fly, fly aloft, gain altitude, galactic circle, galactic cluster, galactic coordinates, galactic latitude, galactic longitude, galactic nebula, galactic noise, galactic pole, galaxy, girdle, girdle the globe, glide, go about, go around, go round, go the round, go up, grow up, gyre, gyring, hang, helical, helicoid, helix, hover, indirect, indirection, involute, island universe, kink, kite, lap, leave the ground, levitate, loom, loop, make a circuit, meandering, mount, nose dive, oblique, orbit, orbital, orbiting, out-of-the-way, plane, plow, poise, porpoise, power dive, pull out, pull up, pull-up, pullout, push down, pushdown, rear, rear up, revolve, ringlet, rise, rise up, roll, rolling, rotary, round, roundabout, roundaboutness, rounding, screw, screw-shaped, scroll, scrolled, sideslip, skid, skirt, soar, spheroidal galaxy, spin, spiral galaxy, spiral nebula, spiraling, spire, spiroid, stall, stand up, stunt, stunting, supergalaxy, surge, surround, swarm up, sweep up, swirl, tactical maneuvers, take off, tendril, tower, turbinal, turbinate, turn, turning, twine, twirl, twist, undulate, up, upgo, upgrow, upheave, uprise, upspin, upstream, upsurge, upswarm, upwind, verticillate, volplane, volute, voluted, volution, vortex, wheel, wheeling, whirl, whorl, whorled, wreathe, yaw, zoom

ROGET THESAURUS

spiral

Curvature

N curvature, curvity, curvation, incurvature, incurvity, incurvation, bend, flexure, flexion, flection, conflexure, crook, hook, bought, bending, deflection, deflexion, inflection, inflexion, concameration, arcuation, devexity, turn, deviation, detour, sweep, curl, curling, bough, recurvity, recurvation, sinuosity, kink, carve, arc, arch, arcade, vault, bow, crescent, half-moon, lunule, horseshoe, loop, crane neck, parabola, hyperbola, helix, spiral, catenary, festoon, conchoid, cardioid, caustic, tracery, arched ceiling, arched roof, bay window, bow window, sine curve, spline, spline curve, spline function, obliquity, curved, curviform, curvilineal, curvilinear, devex, devious, recurved, recurvous, crump, bowed, vaulted, hooked, falciform, falcated, semicircular, crescentic, sinusoid, parabolic, paraboloid, luniform, lunular, semilunar, conchoidal, helical, double helical, spiral, kinky, cordiform, cordated, cardioid, heart shaped, bell shaped, boat shaped, crescent shaped, lens shaped, moon shaped, oar shaped, shield shaped, sickle shaped, tongue shaped, pear shaped, fig shaped, kidney-shaped, reniform, lentiform, lenticular, bow-legged, oblique, circular, aduncated, arclike, arcuate, arched, beaked, bicorn, bicornuous, bicornute, clypeate, clypeiform, cymbiform, embowed, galeiform, hamate, hamiform, hamous, hooked, linguiform, lingulate, lobiform, lunate, navicular, peltate, remiform, rhamphoid, rostrate, rostriferous, rostroid, scutate, scaphoid, uncate, unguiculate, unguiform, curvature, curvity, curvation, incurvature, incurvity, incurvation, bend, flexure, flexion, flection, conflexure, crook, hook, bought, bending, deflection, deflexion, inflection, inflexion, concameration, arcuation, devexity, turn, deviation, detour, sweep, curl, curling, bough, recurvity, recurvation, sinuosity, kink, carve, arc, arch, arcade, vault, bow, crescent, half-moon, lunule, horseshoe, loop, crane neck, parabola, hyperbola, helix, spiral, catenary, festoon, conchoid, cardioid, caustic, tracery, arched ceiling, arched roof, bay window, bow window, sine curve, spline, spline curve, spline function, obliquity, curved, curviform, curvilineal, curvilinear, devex, devious, recurved, recurvous, crump, bowed, vaulted, hooked, falciform, falcated, semicircular, crescentic, sinusoid, parabolic, paraboloid, luniform, lunular, semilunar, conchoidal, helical, double helical, spiral, kinky, cordiform, cordated, cardioid, heart shaped, bell shaped, boat shaped, crescent shaped, lens shaped, moon shaped, oar shaped, shield shaped, sickle shaped, tongue shaped, pear shaped, fig shaped, kidney-shaped, reniform, lentiform, lenticular, bow-legged, oblique, circular, aduncated, arclike, arcuate, arched, beaked, bicorn, bicornuous, bicornute, clypeate, clypeiform, cymbiform, embowed, galeiform, hamate, hamiform, hamous, hooked, linguiform, lingulate, lobiform, lunate, navicular, peltate, remiform, rhamphoid, rostrate, rostriferous, rostroid, scutate, scaphoid, uncate, unguiculate, unguiform.

Convolution

N convolution, winding, convolution, involution, circumvolution, wave, undulation, tortuosity, anfractuosity, sinuosity, sinuation, meandering, circuit, circumbendibus, twist, twirl, windings and turnings, ambages, torsion, inosculation, reticulation, rivulation, roughness, coil, roll, curl, buckle, spiral, helix, corkscrew, worm, volute, rundle, tendril, scollop, scallop, escalop, kink, ammonite, snakestone, serpent, eel, maze, labyrinth, knot, convoluted, winding, twisted, tortile, tortive, wavy, undated, undulatory, circling, snaky, snake-like, serpentine, serpent, anguill, vermiform, vermicular, mazy, tortuous, sinuous, flexuous, anfractuous, reclivate, rivulose, scolecoid, sigmoid, sigmoidal, spiriferous, spiroid, involved, intricate, complicated, perplexed, labyrinth, labyrinthic, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, peristaltic, daedalian, kinky, knotted, wreathy, frizzly, crepe, buckled, raveled, spiral, coiled, helical, cochleate, cochleous, screw-shaped, turbinated, turbiniform, in and out, round and round, a can of worms, Gordian knot, convolution, winding, convolution, involution, circumvolution, wave, undulation, tortuosity, anfractuosity, sinuosity, sinuation, meandering, circuit, circumbendibus, twist, twirl, windings and turnings, ambages, torsion, inosculation, reticulation, rivulation, roughness, coil, roll, curl, buckle, spiral, helix, corkscrew, worm, volute, rundle, tendril, scollop, scallop, escalop, kink, ammonite, snakestone, serpent, eel, maze, labyrinth, knot, convoluted, winding, twisted, tortile, tortive, wavy, undated, undulatory, circling, snaky, snake-like, serpentine, serpent, anguill, vermiform, vermicular, mazy, tortuous, sinuous, flexuous, anfractuous, reclivate, rivulose, scolecoid, sigmoid, sigmoidal, spiriferous, spiroid, involved, intricate, complicated, perplexed, labyrinth, labyrinthic, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, peristaltic, daedalian, kinky, knotted, wreathy, frizzly, crepe, buckled, raveled, spiral, coiled, helical, cochleate, cochleous, screw-shaped, turbinated, turbiniform, in and out, round and round, a can of worms, Gordian knot.