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

• 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”; 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

Give the nautilus itself to a mathematician, and he will show you that one secret of its gracefulness lies in its following in its volute or whorl a particular geometrical curve with rigid precision.

From Principles of Decorative Design Fourth Edition by Dresser, Christopher

By these means certain primitive types of ornament are evolved, such as the Greek volute and the Greek key or fret, the logical ornament of a logical people.

From Line and Form (1900) by Crane, Walter

A crude anticipation of the volute is found in Phoenician work, and it also appears on a Hittite relief at Boghaz Keui in the middle of Asia Minor.

From The Legacy of Greece Essays By: Gilbert Murray, W. R. Inge, J. Burnet, Sir T. L. Heath, D'arcy W. Thompson, Charles Singer, R. W. Livingston, A. Toynbee, A. E. Zimmern, Percy Gardner, Sir Reginald Blomfield by Livingstone, R.W.

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

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