volute

[vuh-loot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR volute 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 volute 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.

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. 2019

Related Words for volution

rotation, involution, wheeling, volution, titubation

Examples from the Web for volution

Historical Examples of volution

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

a rolling, revolving, or spiral form or motion

a whorl of a spiral gastropod shell

volute

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

Word Origin and History for volution

volute

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.

volution in Medicine

volute

[və-lōōt′]

adj.

Rolled up; convoluted.