Dictionary.com
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of spiral

1545–55; <Medieval Latin spīrālis, equivalent to Latin spīr(a) coil (<Greek speîra anything coiled, wreathed, or twisted; see spire2) + -ālis-al1

OTHER WORDS FROM spiral

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spiral in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spiral

spiral
/ (ˈspaɪərəl) /

noun
adjective
having the shape of a spiral
verb -rals, -ralling or -ralled or US -rals, -raling or -raled
to assume or cause to assume a spiral course or shape
(intr) to increase or decrease with steady accelerationwages and prices continue to spiral

Derived forms of spiral

spirally, adverb

Word Origin for spiral

C16: via French from Medieval Latin spīrālis, from Latin spīra a coil; see spire ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK