spiry

¹ American  

[spahyuhr-ee] / ˈspaɪər i /

adjective

1. having the form of a spire, slender shoot, or tapering pointed body; tapering up to a point like a spire.

2. abounding in spires or steeples.

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spiry ² American  

[spahy-ree] / ˈspaɪ ri /

adjective

1. spiral; coiled; coiling; helical.

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spiry British  

/ ˈspaɪərɪ /

adjective

1. poetic of spiral form; helical

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Etymology

Origin of spiry¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; spire ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of spiry²

First recorded in 1670–80; spire ² + -y ¹

Example Sentences

In the clear and rosy air, sparkling with a single star, the sharp and spiry cypress-tree rises like a gloomy thought, amid the flow of revelry.

From Alroy The Prince Of The Captivity by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

Churches rear their spiry steeples in every direction.

From Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada by Murray, Henry A.

It was, indeed, the fox!—a magnificent full-brushed fellow, with a slight tendency to grey along the back, and going with the light spiry ease of an animal full of strength and running.

From Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour by Surtees, Robert Smith

Beneath these spiry, crowding trees one has only "the twilight of the forest noon."

From Wild Life on the Rockies by Mills, Enos Abijah

Recurring then to our "public opinion" of the Aiguille Charmoz, we find the greatest exaggeration of, and therefore I suppose the greatest interest in, the narrow and spiry point on its left side.

From Modern Painters, Volume IV (of V) by Ruskin, John