# spiral
## English
### Etymology

From Middle French spirale, from Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spīra, from Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra, “wreath, coil, twist”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada, New Zealand) IPA: /ˈspaɪɹəl/
** Audio (US):(file)
* (General Australian) IPA: /ˈspɑɪɹəl/
* Rhymes: -aɪɹəl

### 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.
** 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.

#### Related terms

* aspirin
* spirea

#### Translations
### Adjective

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
### 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)
* (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
### Derived terms

* 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 out
* spiral pass
* spiral pump
* spiral staircase
* spiral valve
* spiral worm
* spiral wrack
* Steiner's spiral nematode
* superluminous spiral galaxy
* super spiral
* Ulam spiral
* upward spiral

### Further reading

* Category:spirals on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

### Anagrams

* Aprils, Plairs, prials

## Crimean Tatar
### Etymology

From French spiral.

### Pronunciation

* Hyphenation: spi‧ral

### Noun

spiral
* spiral

#### Declension
### References

* “spiral”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

## Danish
### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Noun

spiral c (singular definite spiralen, plural indefinite spiraler)
* spiral
* coil (contraceptive device)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “spiral” in Den Danske Ordbog
* “spiral” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /spi.ʁal/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

spiral (feminine spirale, masculine plural spiraux, feminine plural spirales)
* spiral

### Noun

spiral m (plural spiraux)
* spiral

### Further reading

* “spiral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Indonesian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch spiraal (“spiral”), from French spirale, from Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira, from Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra, “wreath, coil, twist”).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Indonesian) IPA: /ˈspiral/ [ˈspi.ral]
* Rhymes: -iral
* Syllabification: spi‧ral

### Noun

spiral (plural spiral-spiral)
* (geometry) spiral; a kind of curve
    Synonym: pilin
* (figurative) spiral; a self-sustaining process with a lot of momentum involved, so it is difficult to accelerate or stop it at once
* (colloquial) intrauterine device, coil; a contraceptive device consisting of a spiral or similar shape
    Synonym: alat kontrasepsi dalam rahim

### Adjective

spiral
* spiral, helical
    Synonyms: pilin, berpilin

#### Derived terms

* berspiral
* spiral Archimedes
* spiral deflasi
* spiral Ekman
* spiral keheningan

### Further reading

* “spiral” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Northern Sami
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* (Kautokeino) IPA: /ˈspiral/

### Noun

spiral
* hip

#### Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

#### Further reading

* Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira.

### Noun

spiral m (definite singular spiralen, indefinite plural spiraler, definite plural spiralene)
* a spiral, coil
* a coil (contraceptive device)

#### Derived terms

* spiralfjær
* spiraltrapp

### References

* “spiral” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Medieval Latin spiralis, from Latin spira.

### Noun

spiral m (definite singular spiralen, indefinite plural spiralar, definite plural spiralane)
* a spiral, coil
* a coil (contraceptive device)

#### Derived terms

* spiraltrapp

### References

* “spiral” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French spiral.

### Adjective

spiral m or n (feminine singular spirală, masculine plural spirali, feminine and neuter plural spirale)
* spiral

#### Declension
### Further reading

* spiral in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Swedish
### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Noun

spiral c
* a spiral
* an intrauterine device, a coil (contraceptive device)

#### Derived terms

* myggspiral (“mosquito repellent spiral”)
* spiraltrappa (“spiral staircase”)

#### See also

* dagen efter-piller (“morning-after pill”)
* kondom (“condom”)
* p-
* p-piller (“oral contraceptive pill”)
* preventivmedel (“contraceptive”)

### References

* spiral in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* spiral in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* spiral in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

### Anagrams

* pilars, slipar