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volute

[vuh-loot]
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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 volute 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.
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Origin of volute

1690–1700; (< F) < Latin volūta, feminine of volūtus, past participle of volvere to turn. See revolve
Related formsvo·lut·ed, adjectivevo·lu·tion, nounin·ter·vo·lute, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for volution

Historical Examples

  • On the left wrist were two circular excoriations, apparently the effect of ropes, or of a rope in more than one volution.

    The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

    Edgar Allan Poe

British Dictionary definitions for volution

volution

noun
  1. a rolling, revolving, or spiral form or motion
  2. a whorl of a spiral gastropod shell
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volute

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 also: voluted (vəˈluːtɪd)
  1. having the form of a volute; spiral
  2. machinery moving in a spiral path
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Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for volution

volute

n.

1690s, "spiral ornament on an Ionic capital," from French volute, from Italian voluta, from Latin voluta "a spiral scroll," originally fem. past participle of volvere "to turn around, roll" (see volvox). Extended 1756 to any spiral thing or part. As a type of spiral seashell, it is attested from 1753.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
volution in Medicine

volute

(və-lōōt′)
adj.
  1. Rolled up; convoluted.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.