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spiry1

[spahyuh r-ee]
See more synonyms for spiry on Thesaurus.com
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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Origin of spiry1

First recorded in 1595–1605; spire1 + -y1

spiry2

[spahy-ree]
adjective
  1. spiral; coiled; coiling; helical.
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Origin of spiry2

First recorded in 1670–80; spire2 + -y1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spiry

Historical Examples

  • Their clumpy heads blend ill with the spiry tops of the juniors.

    Woodland Gleanings

    Charles Tilt

  • We passed under it, but could see its stately castle crowned with a multitude of spiry towers.

    The Spell of Switzerland

    Nathan Haskell Dole

  • The spiry exuberance of Milan Cathedral can be paralleled in the neighbourhood of Aconcagua.

    The Alps

    Martin Conway

  • A light, airy young Beech, with its spiry branches hanging in easy forms, is generally beautiful.

    Woodland Gleanings

    Charles Tilt

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

British Dictionary definitions for spiry

spiry

adjective
  1. poetic of spiral form; helical
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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