volute

American  

[vuh-loot] / vəˈlut /

noun

1. a spiral or twisted formation or object.

2. Architecture. a spiral ornament, found especially in the capitals of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders.

3. Carpentry. a horizontal scrolled termination to the handrail of a stair.

4. Zoology.

   1. a turn or whorl of a spiral shell.

   2. any of various tropical marine gastropods of the family Volutidae, many species of which have shells prized for their coloration.

5. the spiral casing surrounding the impeller of a centrifugal pump.

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adjective

1. having a volute or rolled-up form.

2. Machinery.

   1. spirally shaped or having a part so shaped.

   2. moving in a circular way, especially if combined with a lateral motion.

volute British  

/ ˈvɒljuːt, vəˈluːt /

noun

1. a spiral or twisting turn, form, or object; spiral; whorl

2. Also called: helix.  a carved ornament, esp as used on an Ionic capital, that has the form of a spiral scroll

3. any of the whorls of the spirally coiled shell of a snail or similar gastropod mollusc

4. any tropical marine gastropod mollusc of the family Volutidae, typically having a spiral shell with beautiful markings

5. a tangential part, resembling the volute of a snail's shell, that collects the fluids emerging from the periphery of a turbine, impeller pump, etc

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adjective

1. having the form of a volute; spiral

2. machinery moving in a spiral path

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intervolute
  adjective
• voluted
  adjective
• volution
  noun

Etymology

Origin of volute

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French or directly from Latin volūta “a scroll,” feminine noun use of volūtus, past participle of volvere “to turn”; see revolve

Example Sentences

Her basic eyeliner became an ornate volute, a swath of clown makeup, a cat mask.

From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2011

It was by far and away the largest I have ever seen—quite an armful of a volute.

From In Touch with Nature Tales and Sketches from the Life by Stables, Gordon

Any kind of man, beast, or bird, it has been said, can put himself into such a posture as to make an Ionic volute.

From Sketches of Travel in Normandy and Maine by Hutton, William Holden

The cone over the straight inside pipe was made with volute flanges on its under side, which gave a rotary motion to the sparks.

From Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives Baldwin Locomotive Works by Baird, Matthew

The term was applied in architecture to various forms of ornamentation taking the shape of a scroll, such as the volute of an Ionian capital.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 4 "Carnegie Andrew" to "Casus Belli" by Various

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