Etymologically
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spiral

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈspaɪɹəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French spiral (1534, in Rabelais) and directly Medieval Latin spīrālis (“winding, coiling”),[2][3][4] from Latin spīra (“coil, twist”) (see spire),[2][3][5] from Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra, “coil, twist, wreath”),[2][3] perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to turn, wind”), though Beekes is doubtful.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, winding round a centre: 1551 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, the 1550s in Etymonline.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a continuous curve winding round a point, is from 1656, in a translation of Hobbes,[2][6][5] and a helix from 1670.[6] The spiral nebula is from 1846 and the spiral galaxy by 1870.[3] Figuratively, a progressive movement upwards or downwards, as of prices, is from 1897.[6] The verb is from 1726 (spiraled), intransitive by 1834, of aircraft by 1916, and figurative by 1922.[3]

Timeline

  • 1551 – spiral (adjective).[2]
  • 1656 – a spiral curve.[2][6]
  • 1726 – to spiral (verb).[3]
  • 1846 – spiral nebula.[3]
  • 1897 – a rising or falling spiral (figurative).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A curve that winds around a centre at an ever-increasing or decreasing distance; a helix.
  2. A continuous rise or fall, as of prices: an inflationary spiral.

Adjective

  1. Winding in a continuous curve around a centre or axis.

Verb

  1. To move in a spiral course.
  2. To rise or fall steadily and quickly: costs spiralled.

Word family

  • spirality
  • spirally
  • multispiral
  • nonspiral
  • subspiral
  • unispiral
  • unspiral
  • spiral-bound

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press