volute

[ vuh-loot ]

/ vəˈlut /

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See synonyms for: volute / voluted / volution on Thesaurus.com

noun

a spiral or twisted formation or object.

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

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

Zoology.

a turn or whorl of a spiral shell.
any of various tropical marine gastropods of the family Volutidae, many species of which have shells prized for their coloration.

the spiral casing surrounding the impeller of a centrifugal pump.

adjective

having a volute or rolled-up form.

Machinery.

spirally shaped or having a part so shaped.
moving in a circular way, especially if combined with a lateral motion.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM volute

vo·lut·ed, adjectivevo·lu·tion, nounin·ter·vo·lute, adjective

Words nearby volute

Volunteers of America, Volunteer State, voluntourism, voluptuary, voluptuous, volute, volute spring, volutin, volution, volva, volvelle

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

How to use volute in a sentence

In one of the specimens the ogee ends finish in a point; in the other they finish in a spiral volute turning upon itself.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson
Fig. 268 represents a well-preserved disk with four volute arms forming the tetraskelion, and thus allied to the Swastika.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson
Spiral-volute designs resembling the Swastika in general effect are found on aboriginal mound pottery from the Mississippi Valley.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson
The volute form is particularly adapted to the decoration of basketry, of which fig. 299 is a specimen.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson

It terminated in a large shepherds crook or scroll, the curved volute being often richly ornamented with foliage.
A Handbook of Pictorial History|Henry W. Donald

British Dictionary definitions for volute

volute

/ (ˈvɒljuːt, vəˈluːt) /

noun

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

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

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

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

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

adjective also: voluted (vəˈluːtɪd)

having the form of a volute; spiral

machinery moving in a spiral path

Word Origin for volute

C17: from Latin volūta a spiral decoration, from volūtus rolled, from volvere to roll up

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

volute

Origin of volute

OTHER WORDS FROM volute

Words nearby volute

Words related to volute

How to use volute in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for volute

Word Origin for volute