spiral
Meaning
a shape that winds around and around a central point, getting further away from it as it goes
a situation in which something continuously increases, decreases, or gets worse in a way that is difficult to control
to move in a continuous curve that gets nearer to or further from its central point as it goes around
to continuously and uncontrollably increase, decrease, or get worse
having the shape of a spiral
Structure
Usage
the staircase descended in a tight spiral.
the country's economy is in a dangerous inflationary spiral.
smoke spiraled up from the chimney into the cold air.
Etymology
the word 'spiral' has a direct lineage from the greek speira, meaning a coil or twist, which passed into latin as spira. this root inherently captures the concept of winding or turning around a central axis. the latin suffix -alis was added to form the adjective, describing something that possesses this coiled nature. over time, this concrete geometric sense expanded metaphorically to describe any process that follows a similar pattern of continuous, often accelerating, circular motion, such as a 'spiral' of debt or decline.
Analysis
spir is from latin spira (meaning 'a coil'), which is from greek speira (meaning 'a coil, twist, wreath'). the suffix -al is a latin-derived adjectival suffix meaning 'of or pertaining to'.