spiren.¹

/spʌɪə/

Forms: Old English, Middle English spir, Middle English– spire, Middle English, 1500s–1600s spier (1600s spiere), Middle English–1500s spyre.

Etymology: Old English spír , = West Frisian spier , North Frisian spîr , Middle Dutch and Dutch spier , Middle Low German spîr , spyer , spyr , Middle High German spîr (German spier , spiere ), Danish spire , Middle Swedish and Swedish spira , sprout, shoot, sprig, etc. Compare spear n.²

a. A stalk or stem of a plant, esp. one of a tall and slender growth. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > stem or stalk > [noun]

stealc700

stemc888

spirea1000

stalka1366

caulc1420

codd?1440

stalec1440

thighc1440

shank1513

pipe?1523

start?1523

spindle1577

leg1597

scape1601

haulm1623

caulicle1657

culm1657

thyrse1658

scapus1704

stemlet1838

stam1839

caulis1861

caulome1875

tige1900

a1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 266 Wiþ lungen adle, hindbergean leaf & hreodes spir.

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xvi. sig. e.vii^v There was in pycture..Our lorde apperynge, in busshe flammynge as fyre And nothynge therof brent, lefe, tree, nor spyre.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xii^v Dockes haue a brode lefe & dyuers hygh spyres & very smale sede in the toppe.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 23 Raddishes eat the more pleasantly, if their leaues be cropt off before the master stem or spire be growne big.

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 136 I observed the wheat on the ground, and that the first, or capital branch, consisted of an upright spire, between two leaves.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 284 The green leaves of corn, which protect and assist to draw up nourishment into the spire.

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 37 Tall spires of windlestrae Threw their thin shadows down the rugged slope.

figurative.1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies ii. 194 Among those sweet living things, whose new courage..is starting up in strength of goodly spire.

b. The tapering top of a tree; the portion of the main stem which shoots up above the branches.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > tree-top > spiring

spire1657

1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 162 One Apple hang'd upon the very top of the Spire of the Tree.

1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 27 There stands a group of cypresses; not such As, with a graceful spire and stirring life, Pierce the pure heaven.

1875 T. Laslett Timber & Timber Trees 72 No tops to be received, except the spire and such other top or limb as may be grown on the main piece.

c. A flower-spike.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun] > of particular type, shape, or arrangement > spike

spike1578

torch1578

spica1693

spicula1760

spicule1785

spire1850

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxi. 113 Bring orchis, bring the fox-glove spire .

1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna, & Other Poems i. ii. 4 The giant spires of yellow bloom Of the sun-loving gentian.

1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. viii. 169 Meadows, where..asphodel is pale with spires of faintest rose.

2. (Now English regional (southern and south-western).)

a. collective. Reeds; reed-like coarse tall-growing plants or sedges (see later quots.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant > collective or bed of reeds

reedeOE

spirea1250

reed bed1483

reedbeere1585

stover1621

reedlings1830

spire-bed1863

a1250 Owl & Nightingale 18 In ore waste þicke hegge, Imeind mid spire & grene segge.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isaiah xviii. 1 (margin) Papirus is a kynde of spier.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. ii. 3 [She] puttide hym forth in a place of spier of the brenke of the flood.

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 514 The common Reede or spier groweth in standing waters... This plante is called in..English Common Pole Reede, Spier, or Cane Reede.

1796 W. Marshall Provincialisms W. Devonshire in Rural Econ. W. Eng. I. 330 Spire (Arundo), reed.

1856 W. A. Bromfield Flora Vectensis 583 Common Sea-reed..is known only as Spire, a term applied by the islanders to all the larger-spiked and close-panicled grasses, Carices and Typhæ.

1865 R. Hunt Pop. Romances W. Eng. (1871) 1st Ser. 201 Before the reed-like plant called by the present inhabitants the spire was planted.

b. A single plant of this; a reed.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant

reedeOE

spirea1425

pole-reed1578

pool reed1587

reed-grass1597

marsh-reed1797

flag-reed1833

Phragmites1840

toi-toi1843

fox's foot1853

spire reed1863

trumpet reed1866

bango1899

kamish1902

Norfolk reed1952

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Job viii. 11 Whether a rusche may lyue with out moysture? ethir a spier [v.r. reed] may wexe with out watir?

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Spires, is chiefly applied to the tall species of sedge..; it is likewise used of the tall leaves of the common yellow iris... Isle of Wight.

1863 J. R. Wise New Forest 287 The phrase ‘spire-bed’..is very common, meaning a particular field, near where the ‘spires’ grow.

c. Mining. (See quot. 1875.)

ΚΠ

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2276/2 Spire, the tube carrying the train to the charge in the blast-hole. Also called the reed or rush, as the spires of grass or rushes are used for the purpose.

a. A young or tender shoot or sprout; esp. the rudimentary shoot of a seed; the acrospire of grain; = spear n.² 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > [noun] > parts of > plumule or rudimentary shoot

spirec1374

springa1400

sprout?1548

plume1578

spear1647

germen1651

acrospire1675

sprit1682

mistressa1722

plumula1727

plumule1727

plumelet1783

gemmule1844

stem-bud1877

epicotyl1880

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. 1335 As an oke comyth of a littil spire.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvii. xi Þe spire of þe lely springeþ oute of the side of þe cloue and nouȝt oute of þee ende.

a1400 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 81 83 Whon greyne of whete is cast in grounde..þerof springeþ spires I-nowe.

c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1034 When their spir up goon is,.. Let plaunte hem ther.

1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 65 The Grains of Barly being moistned with water,..the fermentation and heat presently appears,..and therefore it shoots forth into Spires.

1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) 83 [They] place the ends of them in water 'till towards the Spring, by which season they will have contracted a swelling spire or knurr.

1766 Compl. Farmer at Malt At this time, the spire should be near piercing through the outer skin of the barley.

1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 7 Nature intended this for the future support of the spire.

figurative.1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. ix. 100 Sitthe to spille speche þat spyre is of grace.

b. A blade or shoot of grass, etc.; = spear n.² 2b (Frequently c1660–1720; now rare.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > shoot, sprout, or branch > [noun] > shoot or blade

chire1398

bladec1440

spire1646

spear1841

1646 Bp. J. Hall Balme of Gilead 372 What if there were as many Devils in the aire, as there are spires of grasse on the earth.

a1674 T. Traherne Christian Ethicks (1675) 60 Every Grain of Dust,..every Spire of Grass is wholly illuminated thereby.

1701 G. Stanhope tr. St. Augustine Pious Breathings 184 [Thy hand] only could produce the least spire of Grass.

1709 W. Congreve tr. Ovid Art of Love iii. 224 Pointed Spires of Flax, when green, will Ink supply.

1724 R. Welton Substance Christian Faith 433 Look but upon a spire of grass.

1849 O. A. Brownson Wks. VII. 18 We know that a spire of grass grows, but how it grows we know not.

1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling vi. 204 The Wrentail..may be seen in the fine sunny weather sunning itself on the long spires of grass.

c. U.S. Similarly of hair; = spear n.² 2c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > hair > [noun] > shoot or sprout of

spear1852

spire1868

1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. xv. 239 I'd do as much for our Jimmy any day if I had a spire of hair worth selling.

4. A long slender and tapering growth in a plant:

a. The awn or beard of grain.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > cereal plants or corn > awn of corn

aileOE

jag1519

spire1530

stang1808

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 274 Spyre of corne, barbe du ble.

1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. 234 Spires, the horns of barley.

†b. The stigma of the crocus, from which saffron is obtained. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > iris and related flowers > crocus > part of

spire1631

1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxviii The saffron yeelds an odoriferous and cordiall spire, whiles both the flowre, and the root are unpleasing.

5. An elongated or pointed shoot or tongue of fire or flame.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > [noun] > flame or blaze > elongated

spirec1450

streamer1758

flame-banner1880

c1450 Mirk's Festial 102 And when he come done to þe pepull,..two spyres of fyre stoden out of hys hed lyke two hornes.

1621 G. Sandys tr. Ovid First Five Bks. Metamorphosis ii. 36 Parnassus grones beneath two flaming spires.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 223 On each hand the flames Drivn backward slope their pointing spires .

1812 Examiner 21 Sept. 597/1 Spires of smoking flame.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 993 If the gas be copious, the flame elongates into a sharp spire.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith ix. 383 An immense instinct in his nature points upward, like a spire of flame.

a. A conical, tapering, pointed body or part of something; a sharp point.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part

goadeOE

pikeOE

point1390

broad arrowhead1545

spire1551

pick1614–15

stob1637

icicle1644

arrow point1655

spike1718

jagger1825

spear-point1861

spear-head1894

1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. Defin. They are lyke in foorme to two such cantles ioyned togither..: or els it is called a rounde spire, or stiple fourme.

1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. Defin. A square spire.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 78 Of the Spire or Taper called Pyramis.

1632 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) i. 22 The whole skie being all the night long in the beames of the Sun (that little spire, the shadowe of the Earth excepted).

1658 tr. G. della Porta Nat. Magick 393 Make.. [a] vessel in the fashion of a Tunnel, or a round Pyramis;..let the spire of it..be open.

1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 386 The narrow'r end I sharpen'd to a spire.

1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab iv. 45 Icicles..So stainless, that their white and glittering spires Tinge not the moon's pure beam.

1885 Harper's Mag. Apr. 703 She..directed the capping of her hemp-stacks till the spires were..symmetric.

b. A branch or prong of a deer's horn. (Cf. speer n.²) Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > body and parts > antler > branch

antlera1398

startc1400

tinec1480

branch1484

advancer1486

knag1578

speer1607

spire1607

snag1673

tang1688

point1780

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 119 I haue seene the hornes to haue seauen spires or braunches.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 124 At one yeare old they haue nothing but small bunches,..at three yeares they grow forked into two spieres.

1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 26 Haughty Prelates..with their forked Miters,..in stead of healing up the gashes of the Church,..fall to gore one another with their sharpe spires.

c. A metal spike or rod. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part > metal spike

gadc1225

polepike1451

spear1607

spirec1710

c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 52 A little wall of a yard High of free Stone very ffine wrought, on which are to be Iron railes and spires.

1750 in D. Gilbert Paroch. Hist. Cornwall (1838) III. 430 One of those rocks..with an iron spire at the top thereof.

a. A tall, slender, sharp-pointed summit, peak, rock, or column.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rocky peak > [noun]

tor847

pinnaclec1330

rassec1400

spire1586

prick1604

needle1721

pillar1780

needle rock1784

aiguille1816

nunatak1877

hoodoo1880

1586 G. Whitney Choice of Emblemes 1 A mightie Spyre, whose toppe dothe pierce the skie.

1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 202 About an Harquebuz-shotte from Matarea is a spire of great height like to that at Rome.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 577 The Ægyptians..speake much of these two Pyramides, the mighty spires and steeples whereof..do arise out of the very water.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 22 Mæottis rises very high with a Peake or Pyramidall Spire.

1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 269 The whole Surface of the Rock shall rise into Points or Spires.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women liv, in Poems (new ed.) 135 All night the splintered crags that wall the dell With spires of silver shine.

1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 78 Like a spire of land that stands apart Cleft from the main.

1855 D. T. Ansted in Orr's Circle Sci.: Inorg. Nature 143 The spires, or needle-shaped detached rocks, called in Switzerland aiguilles.

b. poetic. A pyramidal heap or pile of something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile > pyramidal

pyramid1570

spire1818

1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 14 On the shrine he heap'd a spire Of teeming sweets, enkindling sacred fire.

8. A tall structure rising from a tower, roof, etc., and terminating in a slender point; esp. the tapering portion of the steeple of a cathedral or church, usually carried to a great height and constituting one of the chief architectural features of the building. (Cf. spear n.² 1)So Middle Low German spyre (1392), Swedish spira, Danish and Norwegian spir.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > tower or steeple > [noun] > spire

shaftc1450

steeple1473

broach1501

spire1596

broach-steeple1600

prang1929

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > superstructure above a roof > spire

steeple1473

spear1480

spire-steeple1559

spire1596

spiracle1842

stump-spire1842

spirelet1848

needle-spire1864

Skylon1950

1596 T. Lodge Wits Miserie B iiij b His beard is cut like the spier of Grantham steeple.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 739 An high towre in the midest and two spire at the West end.

1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. iv. 117 The Spire of the Cathedrall Church of Pauls, being..two hundred and sixty [feet] from the square Steeple where it was placed.

1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite i, in Fables 9 The Temples crown'd With golden Spires.

1709 J. Swift Baucis & Philemon 3 The Chimney widen'd and grew higher, Became a Steeple with a Spire.

1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VII. v. 15 The steeple which has a spire to it, is placed in the middle of the church.

1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. iv. 59 The spire of a church..indicated the situation of a village.

1866 M. Arnold Thyrsis iii, in Macmillan's Mag. Apr. 449 And that sweet City with her dreaming spires,..Lovely all times she lies, lovely to-night.

1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. v. 310 Queenly Lübeck had not yet begun to cover her peninsula with her stately spires, her soaring gateways.

in extended use.1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 77 My consciousness should be diffused abroad in all the forest, and give a common heart to that assembly of green spires.

9. figurative. The highest point, summit, or top of something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > highest point or top

headOE

copa1000

heightOE

topc1000

highestlOE

crest1382

coperounc1400

summita1425

summity?a1425

toppet1439

altitude?a1475

upperest1484

principala1533

pitcha1552

supremity1584

culm1587

period1595

spire1600

upward1608

cope1609

fastigium1641

vertex1641

culmen1646

supreme1652

tip-top1702

peak1785

helm1893

altaltissimo1975

1600 J. Dowland 2nd Bk. Songs sig. Bij^v From the highest spire of contentment, my fortune is throwne.

1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. v. vi. 178/1 The Romans that stroue to mount hie on the spires of their intended glory.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. x. 24 To silence that, Which to the spire, and top of prayses vouch'd, Would seeme but modest.

Compounds

C1. attributive and in other combinations.

(a) In senses 1 – 3, as spire-end. Also spire-grass n.

ΚΠ

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 207 The germen, or the spire~end of the barley.

(b)

spire-bed n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant > collective or bed of reeds

reedeOE

spirea1250

reed bed1483

reedbeere1585

stover1621

reedlings1830

spire-bed1863

1863 J. R. Wise New Forest Gloss. Spire-bed, a place where the ‘spires’, that is, the reed-canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), grow.

spire mint n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > mint or spearmint

minteOE

spearmint1562

brown mint1597

mackerel mint1597

green mint1770

pudina1842

spire mint1863

1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants Spear-mint or Spire-mint, from its spiry, not capitate inflorescence.

spire reed n. dialect (see quots.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant

reedeOE

spirea1425

pole-reed1578

pool reed1587

reed-grass1597

marsh-reed1797

flag-reed1833

Phragmites1840

toi-toi1843

fox's foot1853

spire reed1863

trumpet reed1866

bango1899

kamish1902

Norfolk reed1952

1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants Spires, or Spire-reed, the pool reed, Arundo phragmites.

(a) In sense 8, as spire-growth, spire-passion, spire-top. See also spire-steeple n.

ΚΠ

1853 C. Wickes Illustr. Spires & Towers Eng. (title page) The Architecture of the Middle Ages, and its Spire-Growth.

1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights II. 144 The flag of England, fluttering on the spire~top, grew ever fainter and fainter.

1944 E. Blunden Cricket Country v. 64 There is only one person known to me who quite equals my spire-passion.

(b)

spire-light n. a window in a spire.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window

loop1393

shot-windowc1405

gable window1428

batement light1445

church window1458

shot1513

casement1538

dream-hole1559

luket1564

draw window1567

loop-window1574

loophole1591

tower-windowc1593

thorough lights1600

squinch1602

turret window1603

slit1607

close-shuts1615

gutter window1620

street lighta1625

balcony-window1635

clere-story window1679

slip1730

air-loop1758

Venetian1766

Venetian window1775

sidelight1779

lancet window1781

French casement1804

double window1819

couplet1844

spire-light1846

lancet1848

tower-light1848

triplet1849

bar-window1857

pair-light1868

nook window1878

coupled windows1881

three-light1908–9

north-light1919

storm window1933

borrowed light1934

Thermopane1941

storms1952

1846 Archaeol. Jrnl. 2 3 The spire itself, at about half its height, is encircled by spire-lights.

spire-roof n. a steeply sloping roof rising up into a spire.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun] > types of roof generally

vaulta1387

plat-roofa1425

pend1454

faunsere1460

compassed roofa1552

terrace1572

sotie1578

crown1588

arch-roof1594

arch1609

under-roof1611

concameration1644

voltoa1660

hip roof1663

French roof1669

oversail1673

jerkinhead1703

mansard1704

curb-roof1733

shed roof1736

gable roof1759

gambrel roof1761

living roof1792

pent roof1794

span-roof1823

wagon-head1823

azotea1824

rafter roof1825

rooflet1825

wagon-vault1835

bell-roof1842

spire-roof1842

cradle-roof1845

packsaddle roof1845

open roof1847

umbrella roof1847

gambrel1848

packsaddle1848

compass-roof1849

saddleback1849

saddle roof1850

curbed roof1866

wagon-roof1866

saw-tooth roof1900

trough roof1905

skillion roof1911

north-light roof1923

shell roof1954

green roof1984

knee-roof-

1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 356 The cathedrals of Worms and Gelnhausen..exhibit many varieties of spires, or rather spire-roofs, springing up from gables at their base.

C2. With past participles or adjectives (chiefly instrumental and similative), as spire-adorned, spire-crowned, spire-shaped, spire-topped adjs.; spire-like, spire-straight adjs.

ΚΠ

1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 29 He toil'd up the spire-topt hill.

1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 32/1 This..is covered by a very steep, or spire-shaped roof.

1879 W. Carleton Farm Ballads (new ed.) 87 The turreted, spire-adorned city.

1885 E. P. Warren & C. F. M. Cleverly Wanderings ‘Beetle’ 56 The famous Roche à Bayard, rising almost sheer from the river, soars to its spire-like peak.

1893 Daily News 27 Apr. 5/5 Each corner is adorned with a spire-crowned pavilion.

1933 C. Day Lewis Magnetic Mountain 26 There, as a candle's beam Stands firm and will not waver Spire-straight in a close chamber.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

spiren.²

Forms: Middle English–1500s spyre, Middle English spyr, spyer, spierre, 1600s spier, Middle English, 1600s– spire.

Etymology: apparently of Continental origin, corresponding in sense 1 to Old Norse spíra (Norwegian and Swedish spira , Danish spire ), Low German spiere , spier , Middle Dutch spier (rare), North Frisian spîr , West Frisian spier , spjirre . The original locality of the word, and its relation to spire n.¹, are not clear.

Chiefly Scottish and northern dialect.

†1.

a. A spar or pole of timber; a bar or moderately long piece of wood. Obsolete. (Cf. spar n.¹ 1, 3.)

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc.

stingc725

stakec893

sowelc900

tree971

rungOE

shaftc1000

staffc1000

stockc1000

poleOE

spritOE

luga1250

lever1297

stanga1300

perchc1300

raftc1330

sheltbeam1336

stower1371

palea1382

spar1388

spire1392

perk1396

ragged staff1397

peela1400

slot1399

plantc1400

heck-stower1401

sparkin1408

cammockc1425

sallow stakec1440

spoke1467

perk treec1480

yard1480

bode1483

spit1485

bolm1513

gada1535

ruttock1542

stob1550

blade1558

wattle1570

bamboo1598

loggat1600

barling1611

sparret1632

picket1687

tringle1706

sprund1736

lug-pole1773

polting lug1789

baton1801

stuckin1809

rack-pin1821

picket-pin1844

I-iron1874

pricker1875

stag1881

podger1888

window pole1888

verge1897

sallow pole1898

lat1899

swizzle-stick1962

1392 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 115 In iij spyres emp. de Joh. de Morpath pro skaffald, 15d.

c1400 Gamelyn 503 Gamelyn spreyniþ holi water with an oken spire.

c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 17170 [They] spered the ȝates wel and faste With many a spire that wel wolde laste.

1419 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 144 Et in ij spyrys de esch emt. pro reparacione unius domus,..5d.

1470 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 339 Noo freman [shall] goo without the citte to by hides, tallow, spirys, bordes.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 221 There lyeth foorth farther out a fouresquare beame or spire.

†b. The pole or shaft of a chariot. Also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > shaft(s) or pole

thillc1325

limber1480

sway1535

neap1553

draught-tree1580

wain-beam1589

beam1600

fills1609

spire1609

foreteam?1611

verge1611

shaft1613

rangy1657

pole1683

thrill1688

trill1688

rod1695

range1702

neb1710

sharp1733

tram1766

carriage pole1767

sill1787

tongue1792

nib1808

dissel-boom1822

tongue-tree1829

reach1869

wain-stang1876

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 222 From the very midst of these ropes there riseth forth a beame of wood overthwart, and after the fashion of a yoke spire or tiller erected.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 29 They were wont to..run along the spire-pole and beame of the chariot.

2. A young tree suitable for making into a spar; a sapling. Also attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > characterized by age or life cycle > [noun] > young tree or sapling

spire1392

sapling1415

springa1450

sipling1513

spear1543

gelding1562

saple1589

tiller1664

treeling1847

timberline1867

treelet1874

pole1882

1392 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 116 In xxxij spyres emp. de Will. Mayllour, 16s. 4d. Et in eisdem prosternandis, 7d.

1543 in J. R. Walbran Mem. Abbey St. Mary of Fountains (1863) I. 413 [Survey of woods], Young oke spyres,..small ashe spyres.

1620 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1884) II. For cutting and stealing in Watlas Springe, two ash~spires.

1634 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. (STC 12640.5) 166 Like a wood new felled, that hath some few spires left for standers.

1703 London Gaz. No. 3975/4 Persons having any small young Spire Elm Timber to dispose of.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 394 Many times a Spire Elm will begin to grow hollow at the bottom when any of its Roots happen to perish.

1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 355 Spires, timber stands (not common).

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2)

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 275 Spires, young trees that shoot up a considerable height before they branch out and form a head.

1876 Davidson's Precedents V. i. 225 All timber and other trees, pollards, spires, and saplings.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

spiren.³

/spʌɪə/

Forms: Also 1500s spyre.

Etymology: < French spire (= Italian spira, Spanish espira, Portuguese espira), or < Latin spīra, < Greek σπεῖρα coil, twist, winding.

1. One of the series of complete convolutions forming a coil or spiral.

a. One of the sinuous folds or windings of a serpent, etc.; a coil. Chiefly in plural.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun]

rundlec1300

waif1513

enwrapping1543

convolution1545

entrail?a1549

wreath1555

roundness1572

spire1572

rolling1576

enfold1578

infold1578

obvolution1578

gyre1590

whorl1592

enfoldment1593

twine1600

turn1625

volume1646

volution1752

swirl1786

coil1805

swirling1825

convolute1846

whirl1862

enfolding1873

snaking1888

1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde ii. f. 14 Y^e pypes did resemble the Spyres of a Dragon.

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 236 Sometimes also they [sc. serpents] sette vp such a Spire aboue the water, that a boate or little Barke without sayles may passe thorow the same.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 502 [The Serpent] erect Amidst his circling Spires, that on the grass Floted redundant.

1697 J. Dryden Alexander's Feast ii. 2 A Dragon's fiery Form bely'd the God: Sublime on Radiant Spires He rode.

1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) iv. 32 Now glaring Fiends, and Snakes on rolling Spires.

1820 L. Hunt Indicator 8 Mar. 175 Tired out at length, they trail their spires, and gasp.

1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. II. v. 156 There was the reptile,..Renewing its detested spire and spire Around me.

b. In general or technical use.

ΚΠ

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 150 The humour about the vitall spire [sc. the bowels].

1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xiv. v. 557 If on the third day..the spires or windings [of the bandage] be found more loose.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) London 194 With anfractuous spires, and cocleary turnings about it.

1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 295 A great ox-horn,—the arm was twisted round its spires.

1822 P. B. Shelley Fragm. Unfinished Drama 196 The plant..trailing its quaint spires Along the garden and across the lawn.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 473 Rifles should not be too deeply indented;..and the spires should be truly parallel.

1870 Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1869 8 The center of a coil of many spires of fine wire forming part of the galvanic circuit.

2. A spiral; a series of spiral curves or coils.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > a spiral

worm line1551

spire1611

spiral1656

1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D^v Fvl... Binde my haire vp... Gal. Will you ha't i' the globe, or spire ?

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Spiral 'Tis called from its Inventor, Archimedes's Spire, or Helix.

1761 Brit. Mag. 2 642 Of those perfect spires which lie in the same plane, there are two sorts. The first contains those curves whose spaces, or the distances between each circumvolution, are equal, commonly called Archimedes' spire.

1801 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. II. ii. 391 The principal distinction of the Spanish Sheep is the fineness of the fleece, and the horizontally extended spire of the horns.

1887 D. Maguire Art of Massage (ed. 4) iv. 114 These frictions are applied in every possible direction,..now in a rectangular way, now obliquely describing spires and concentric..curves.

3. A curl or wreath of smoke, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > of smoke, mist, or cloud

wralling1398

wreath1633

spire1699

wreathing1818

folding1853

1699 S. Garth Dispensary i. 6 Aromatick Clouds in Spires ascend.

1705 G. Cheyne Philos. Princ. Nat. Relig. i. 68 Air seems to consist of Spires contorted into small Spheres.

1770 Philos. Trans. 1769 (Royal Soc.) 59 334 There was not a spire of smoke to be perceived.

†4. As the name of a shell. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell

seashella900

shale1561

buckie1596

caracol1622

valve1661

spire1681

umbilicus1688

conch-shell1697

wart-shell?1711

needle1713

multivalve1753

concha1755

periosteum1758

conch1773

devil's claw1773

furbelow1776

peewit's egg1776

worm-tube1776

rosebud1815

sheath1815

periostracum1833

epicuticle1885

epicuticula1886

leg of mutton1891

trivalve1891

1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. vi. i. 132 The Level-Whirle, or the Spire.

5. Conchology. The upper convoluted portion of a spiral shell, consisting of all the whorls except the body-whorl.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell > part of > spiral shell and parts

turben1669

turban1681

clavicle1774

spire1822

turbination1834

volution1884

1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 150 A shield-formed, subconical univalve; no spire.

1851 G. F. Richardson Introd. Geol. (1855) 240 The spire forms a very important feature in the univalves, and on its being raised, flattened, concealed, or reversed, depend many of the generic and specific distinctions of the shells.

1870 G. Rolleston Forms Animal Life 51 The greater part of the shell has been removed, but a part of the spire has been left.

Compounds

attributive and in other combinations, as spire-shell, spire-ward adj.; spire-bearer n. Conchology a spirifer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Brachiopoda > [noun] > miscellaneous types of

Spirifer1835

rhynchonellid1865

spire-bearer1881

articulate1905

1713 J. Petiver Aquatilium Animalium Amboinæ ix Thread listed Spire-shell.

1880 Linn. Soc. Jrnl. 15 104 A broader furrow, in the bottom of which runs the suture on the spire~ward side of a fine rounded thread.

1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 265 The Spire-Bearers. The name..is derived from the spiral shape assumed by the calcareous labial appendages which nearly fill the interior of the dorsal valve.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2021).

† spiren.⁴

Scottish. Obsolete.

= speer n.¹

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > screen > [noun] > other types of

speer1379

traverse1400

transom-lattice1689

blind1730

window blind1730

spire1768

Venetian window-blind1769

window shade1789

tatty1792

tat1810

Japanese screen1872

fusuma1880

curtain1895

mosquito door1929

tuku-tuku1936

fly-wire door1952

table screen1971

1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 136 I's no seek near the fire,—Let me but rest my weary banes, Behind backs at the spire.

1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 406 The spire in a cottage, is properly the stem or leg of an earth-fast couple, reaching from the floor to the top of the wall.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

spiren.⁵

Etymology: Variant of spayard n.The form may be due to spire n.¹ (compare sense 6b at that entry).

rare.

= spayard n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > in its third year

spayarda1425

sorrel1486

spire1856

1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports i. x. 82 The Brocket has only small projections, called knobbers, with small brow antlers; the Spire a brow antler [etc.].

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Spire,..a male deer of three years old.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

spiren.⁶

Coal Mining.

(See quot. 1883.)

ΚΠ

1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 231 Spires, coal of a hard, dull, slaty nature, and difficult to break up.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2019).

spirev.¹

/spʌɪə/

Forms: Also Middle English–1500s spyre, 1500s spyer.

Etymology: < spire n.¹ Compare Norwegian and Swedish spira , Dutch spire , in sense 1.

a. intransitive. Of seeds, grain, etc.: To send forth or develop shoots, esp. the first shoot or acrospire; to germinate, sprout. Also with out. Now rare or Obsolete. (Cf. spear v.²)

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > grow or vegetate [verb (intransitive)] > sprout or put forth new growth

spriteOE

wrideOE

brodc1175

comea1225

spirec1325

chicka1400

sprouta1400

germin?1440

germ1483

chip?a1500

spurgea1500

to put forth1530

shootc1560

spear1570

stock1574

chit1601

breward1609

pullulate1618

ysproutc1620

egerminate1623

put1623

germinate1626

sprent1647

fruticate1657

stalk1666

tiller1677

breerc1700

fork1707

to put out1731

stool1770

sucker1802

stir1843

push1855

braird1865

fibre1869

flush1877

c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 158 Ben germée, [wel atome (? acome); v.r.] spired.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum xvii. xliii. (Tollem. MS.) Many men hangen oynones and garlek in þe smoke ouer þe fyre,..for þey schulde nouȝt spire and growe. Ofte oynones and garlek spireþ, þouȝe þey be nouȝt in erþe.

c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1034 Now curneles of mixe hit is to keste In molde in sum vessell, so fele attonys As wel may spire.

1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy iii. xvii, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 143 Then shall thy seeds both roote and spyre.

1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. iii. i. f. 95^v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The workeman not suffring it [sc. malting barley]..to take any heate, whereby the bud ende shoulde spire.

1679 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 3) 8 If they [i.e. seeds] spire out before you sow them, be sure you commit them to the earth before the Sprout grows dry.

1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 569 As they [sc. crocus roots] then begin to spire, and are ready to shew themselves above Ground.

1765 Museum Rusticum 3 223 There is a sure disappointment in buying such grain, as the kerns will spire at different times.

in extended use.1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 9 Thee Troian Cæsar shal spire fro this auncetrye regal.

†b. transitive. To produce; to put forth. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > produce or bring forth

doeOE

makelOE

to bring forthc1175

farrow?c1225

childc1350

fodmec1390

raise1402

spring?1440

upbringc1440

breed1526

procreate1546

hatch1549

generate1556

product1577

deprompt1586

produce1587

spire1590

sprout1598

represent1601

effer1606

depromea1652

germinate1796

output1858

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. v. sig. Gg8 In..race Of woman kind it fayrest flowre doth spyre, And beareth fruit of honour and all chast desyre.

1591 E. Spenser Ruines of Time in Complaints Ded. The seede of most entire loue..; which taking roote..would in their riper strength..[have] spired forth fruit of more perfection.

2. intransitive. Of plants, corn, etc.: To run up into a tall stem, stalk, or spike; to grow upwards instead of developing laterally. Now dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > grow or vegetate [verb (intransitive)] > grow or increase in size > and ripen

spire1398

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > grow in a specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > grow in upward direction or spire

spire1398

mount1578

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvii. lxxvi Ȝif þei beþ i-suffred in þe bigynnynge to growe to swiþe þan þei spireþ & sedeþ to sone & leseþ to sone here fairenes & grene coloure.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyryn, as corne and oþer lyke, spico.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 728 I spyer, as corne dothe whan it begynneth to waxe rype, je espie.

a1618 J. Sylvester New-Hiervsalem in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 1114 There, Mead, & Field, spring, spire, & yeeld; Rills, Milke and Hony gush.

1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 163 As often as they spire, crop them.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Spire, to grow up into an Ear, as Corn does.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spire, to shoot up luxuriantly.

1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. Spire, to grow rapidly, shoot upwards quickly.

1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words (at cited word) A tree or plant which shoots out in length and not proportionately in breadth is said to spire.

3. To rise or shoot up into a spire or spire-shaped form; to rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire; to mount or soar aloft. Also with up.

a. Of flames or fire.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > become fire [verb (intransitive)] > blaze or flame > flame in specific shape

to stand upc1300

spire1591

tongue1814

1591 E. Spenser Ruines of Rome in Complaints sig. R4^v As ye see huge flames spred diuerslie, Gathered in one vp to the heauens to spyre.

a1651 N. Culverwell Elegant Disc. Light of Nature (1652) i. xviii. 200 The Candle of the Lord;..'tis fain to spire up, and climbe up..in a Pyramidal forme.

1816 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson (1857) I. 181 The flame of its wick spired slightly into length.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 993 If the tip begins to spire, he drops down on one knee, and holding the candle near the pavement, gradually raises it up.

1867 G. MacDonald Disciple & other Poems 53 Each ripple waves a flickering fire..; They laugh and flash, and leap and spire.

b. Of edifices, rocks, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rocky peak > rise to peak [verb (intransitive)]

spire1687

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > become high(er) [verb (intransitive)] > extend to a great or considerable height

mount1573

tower1582

aspire1591

spire1687

soar1812

uptower1848

steeple1892

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > hill or mountain > [verb (intransitive)] > rise in peak

peak1577

spire1687

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > continue building to given height > build up in form of spire

spire1748

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 60 A square Minaret that spires into a Pyramid.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson i. vii. 74 These rocks terminate in a vast number of ragged points, which spire up to a prodigious height.

1790 T. Pennant Of London (1813) 581 They spire into very elegant pinnacles.

1818 H. H. Milman Samor xi. 308 Sudden around 'gan spire the mountain tops.

1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 21 A city..Which Merlin's hand,..had touch'd, and everywhere.., tipt with lessening peak And pinnacle, and had made it spire to heaven.

c. Of leaves, branches, or trees.

ΚΠ

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 330 It will be convenient..to leave a leading Branch near the top to spire up and cover the wound.

1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 136 The leaves only grow at the Top longwise, pointed as those of the Flower-de-lis, spiring, and opposite one to the other.

1798 S. T. Coleridge Picture 115 The crowded firs Spire from thy shores, and stretch across thy bed.

1870 S. Baring-Gould In Exitu Israel I. i. 1 The upstart poplars..spire above the venerable trees.

d. In figurative use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)]

styc825

astyc950

ariseOE

upstyOE

to step upOE

upcomec1000

to come upOE

to go upOE

upwendc1200

runge?c1225

amountc1275

upgoa1325

heavec1325

uparise1340

ascend1382

higha1393

lifta1400

risea1400

skilla1400

uprisea1400

raisec1400

rearc1400

surmount1430

to get upc1450

transcenda1513

springa1525

upmounta1560

assurge?1567

hove1590

surgea1591

tower1618

hoist1647

upheave1649

to draw up1672

spire1680

insurrect1694

soar1697

upsoar1726

uprear1828

higher1889

1680 W. Temple Ess. Orig. & Nature Govt. in Wks. (1720) I. 105 A Common~wealth, the more it takes in of the general Humour and Bent of the People, and the more it spires up to a Head by the Authority of some one Person.

1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 6 Uprose the merry Sphynx, And crouched no more in stone,..She spired into a yellow flame, She flowered in blossoms red.

4. transitive.

a. To build up in the form of a spire.

ΚΠ

1750 C. Wren Parentalia 307 The Ground-work being settled, they had nothing else to do but to spire all up as they could.

b. To direct or point upwards.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > specific directions > direct in specific directions [verb (transitive)] > direct or turn upwards

to turn up?c1335

arrecta1529

upturn1667

spire1839

1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 53 Nay, I love Death. But Immortality, with finger spired, Points to a distant, giant world.

c. To pierce with a sharp and lofty peak.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > with a peak

spire1874

1874 S. Lanier In Absence iii, in Poems (1892) 75 An Alp sublime..Spiring the world's prismatic atmosphere.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2021).

† spirev.²

Forms: Also Middle English–1500s spyre.

Etymology: < Old French spirer, espirer (= Spanish espirar, Portuguese espirar, Italian spirare), or Latin spīrāre to breathe.

Obsolete.

1. intransitive or absol. To breathe; to blow gently; to come forth or out as breath. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > exhalation > exhale [verb (intransitive)]

breathea1382

spirea1382

blazec1384

inspire1513

tuff?1553

to breathe out1576

huff1582

expire1633

outbreathe1638

aspirec1750

exhale1863

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xliii. 17 In his wil shal spiren, or brethen, out the south.

a1395 W. Hylton Scala Perfeccionis ii. xli. (Bodl. 592) Þe hooli goost spireþ where he wole & þou heerist his voice, but þou woost not fro whennes he comeþ or whidir he goiþ.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Qiii^v Let the swete odour of deuocion and prayer spyre out and ascende vp to thy lorde and spouse.

1535 G. Joye Apol. Tindale sig. C.viii^v Here may ye smel out of what stynkyng breste and poysoned virulent throte thys peivisshe Pistle spyrethe and breathed forthe.

2. transitive. To breathe (air, etc.). Const. into.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > breathe [verb (transitive)]

spire1382

breathea1398

respire?a1425

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. ii. 7 The Lord God thanne fourmede man of the slyme of the erthe, and spiride in to the face of hym an entre of breth of lijf.

a. To breathe forth or out, to create or produce by the agency of the breath.Used in the past participle of the Holy Spirit in relation to the other Persons of the Trinity.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > of God

workOE

rearOE

shapeOE

makeOE

raisec1384

to set (something) on (also upon) sevenc1390

spire1435

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > [verb (transitive)] > create Holy Spirit by agency of breath

spire1435

R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 16 Þe sone is cald, be-caus of þe fadyr he is gottyn; þe holy goste, be-caus of bothe þe holy fader & holy sone he is spiryd.

1614 J. Day Dyall 49 He is tearmed a Spirit..because he is spired or breathed from the Father and the Sonne.

1645 J. Ussher Body of Divin. (1647) 86.

b. To pour out by or as by breathing; to emit or give forth (odour).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > exhalation > exhale [verb (transitive)]

fnastc1400

to breathe out1556

outbreathe1563

aspire1575

exhale1589

expire1590

expirate1615

spirate1649

spire1649

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > as by breathing

breathea1425

respire1577

expire?1606

spire1649

1649 R. Lovelace Lucasta: Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs 77 The rosin-lightning [should] flash, and Monster spire Squibs, and words hotter then his fire.

1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ Def. xviii. 321 The leaves..gently toucht do spire forth an excellent odour.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

spirev.³

/spʌɪə/

Etymology: < spire n.³

intransitive. To curl, twist, or wind spirally; to make a spiral curve; esp. to mount or soar with spiral movement. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from spire v.¹

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)]

twinec1300

foldc1330

writhea1413

twind1575

spire1607

wreathe1776

coil1798

scroll1868

threada1879

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > move in a circle or curve [verb (intransitive)] > move in spirals

pirl1538

spire1607

curl1791

whorl1805

coil1816

spiral1835

spiralize1851

corkscrew1853

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] > rise or go up in other manner

upsmite1446

spire1607

eruct1666

uptoss1828

upshoot1876

hulk1880

upwind1880

fountain1903

bob-up1935

the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > soar

soarc1374

sord14..

eagle1652

upsoar1726

spirea1849

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 54 The hornes [of the Bonasus] are recurued..so that they do not spire directly downeward but rather forward.

1718 Entertainer No. 41. 280 It is a Pitchy-smoak, and wheresoever it curls and spires, there we may..find the..Fire of Virtue.

1824 L.-M. Hawkins Annaline II. 232 The whirlwind came spiring upwards.

a1849 T. L. Beddoes Poems (1851) I. 214 The amazed circle of scared eagles Spire to the clouds.

1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen 125 The worms that spired about his bones.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2018).

n.¹a1000

n.²1392

n.³1572

n.⁴1768

n.⁵1856

n.⁶1883

v.¹c1325

v.²a1382

v.³1607

单词	spire
释义	spiren.¹ /spʌɪə/ Forms: Old English, Middle English spir, Middle English– spire, Middle English, 1500s–1600s spier (1600s spiere), Middle English–1500s spyre. Etymology: Old English spír , = West Frisian spier , North Frisian spîr , Middle Dutch and Dutch spier , Middle Low German spîr , spyer , spyr , Middle High German spîr (German spier , spiere ), Danish spire , Middle Swedish and Swedish spira , sprout, shoot, sprig, etc. Compare spear n.² 1. a. A stalk or stem of a plant, esp. one of a tall and slender growth. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > stem or stalk > [noun] stealc700 stemc888 spirea1000 stalka1366 caulc1420 codd?1440 stalec1440 thighc1440 shank1513 pipe?1523 start?1523 spindle1577 leg1597 scape1601 haulm1623 caulicle1657 culm1657 thyrse1658 scapus1704 stemlet1838 stam1839 caulis1861 caulome1875 tige1900 a1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 266 Wiþ lungen adle, hindbergean leaf & hreodes spir. a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xvi. sig. e.vii^v There was in pycture..Our lorde apperynge, in busshe flammynge as fyre And nothynge therof brent, lefe, tree, nor spyre. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xii^v Dockes haue a brode lefe & dyuers hygh spyres & very smale sede in the toppe. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 23 Raddishes eat the more pleasantly, if their leaues be cropt off before the master stem or spire be growne big. a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 136 I observed the wheat on the ground, and that the first, or capital branch, consisted of an upright spire, between two leaves. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 284 The green leaves of corn, which protect and assist to draw up nourishment into the spire. 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 37 Tall spires of windlestrae Threw their thin shadows down the rugged slope. figurative.1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies ii. 194 Among those sweet living things, whose new courage..is starting up in strength of goodly spire. b. The tapering top of a tree; the portion of the main stem which shoots up above the branches. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > tree-top > spiring spire1657 1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 162 One Apple hang'd upon the very top of the Spire of the Tree. 1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 27 There stands a group of cypresses; not such As, with a graceful spire and stirring life, Pierce the pure heaven. 1875 T. Laslett Timber & Timber Trees 72 No tops to be received, except the spire and such other top or limb as may be grown on the main piece. c. A flower-spike. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun] > of particular type, shape, or arrangement > spike spike1578 torch1578 spica1693 spicula1760 spicule1785 spire1850 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxi. 113 Bring orchis, bring the fox-glove spire . View more context for this quotation 1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna, & Other Poems i. ii. 4 The giant spires of yellow bloom Of the sun-loving gentian. 1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. viii. 169 Meadows, where..asphodel is pale with spires of faintest rose. 2. (Now English regional (southern and south-western).) a. collective. Reeds; reed-like coarse tall-growing plants or sedges (see later quots.). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant > collective or bed of reeds reedeOE spirea1250 reed bed1483 reedbeere1585 stover1621 reedlings1830 spire-bed1863 a1250 Owl & Nightingale 18 In ore waste þicke hegge, Imeind mid spire & grene segge. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isaiah xviii. 1 (margin) Papirus is a kynde of spier. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. ii. 3 [She] puttide hym forth in a place of spier of the brenke of the flood. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 514 The common Reede or spier groweth in standing waters... This plante is called in..English Common Pole Reede, Spier, or Cane Reede. 1796 W. Marshall Provincialisms W. Devonshire in Rural Econ. W. Eng. I. 330 Spire (Arundo), reed. 1856 W. A. Bromfield Flora Vectensis 583 Common Sea-reed..is known only as Spire, a term applied by the islanders to all the larger-spiked and close-panicled grasses, Carices and Typhæ. 1865 R. Hunt Pop. Romances W. Eng. (1871) 1st Ser. 201 Before the reed-like plant called by the present inhabitants the spire was planted. b. A single plant of this; a reed. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant reedeOE spirea1425 pole-reed1578 pool reed1587 reed-grass1597 marsh-reed1797 flag-reed1833 Phragmites1840 toi-toi1843 fox's foot1853 spire reed1863 trumpet reed1866 bango1899 kamish1902 Norfolk reed1952 a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Job viii. 11 Whether a rusche may lyue with out moysture? ethir a spier [v.r. reed] may wexe with out watir? 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Spires, is chiefly applied to the tall species of sedge..; it is likewise used of the tall leaves of the common yellow iris... Isle of Wight. 1863 J. R. Wise New Forest 287 The phrase ‘spire-bed’..is very common, meaning a particular field, near where the ‘spires’ grow. c. Mining. (See quot. 1875.) ΚΠ 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2276/2 Spire, the tube carrying the train to the charge in the blast-hole. Also called the reed or rush, as the spires of grass or rushes are used for the purpose. 3. a. A young or tender shoot or sprout; esp. the rudimentary shoot of a seed; the acrospire of grain; = spear n.² 2. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > [noun] > parts of > plumule or rudimentary shoot spirec1374 springa1400 sprout?1548 plume1578 spear1647 germen1651 acrospire1675 sprit1682 mistressa1722 plumula1727 plumule1727 plumelet1783 gemmule1844 stem-bud1877 epicotyl1880 c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. 1335 As an oke comyth of a littil spire. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvii. xi Þe spire of þe lely springeþ oute of the side of þe cloue and nouȝt oute of þee ende. a1400 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 81 83 Whon greyne of whete is cast in grounde..þerof springeþ spires I-nowe. c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1034 When their spir up goon is,.. Let plaunte hem ther. 1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 65 The Grains of Barly being moistned with water,..the fermentation and heat presently appears,..and therefore it shoots forth into Spires. 1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) 83 [They] place the ends of them in water 'till towards the Spring, by which season they will have contracted a swelling spire or knurr. 1766 Compl. Farmer at Malt At this time, the spire should be near piercing through the outer skin of the barley. 1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 7 Nature intended this for the future support of the spire. figurative.1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. ix. 100 Sitthe to spille speche þat spyre is of grace. b. A blade or shoot of grass, etc.; = spear n.² 2b (Frequently c1660–1720; now rare.) ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > shoot, sprout, or branch > [noun] > shoot or blade chire1398 bladec1440 spire1646 spear1841 1646 Bp. J. Hall Balme of Gilead 372 What if there were as many Devils in the aire, as there are spires of grasse on the earth. a1674 T. Traherne Christian Ethicks (1675) 60 Every Grain of Dust,..every Spire of Grass is wholly illuminated thereby. 1701 G. Stanhope tr. St. Augustine Pious Breathings 184 [Thy hand] only could produce the least spire of Grass. 1709 W. Congreve tr. Ovid Art of Love iii. 224 Pointed Spires of Flax, when green, will Ink supply. 1724 R. Welton Substance Christian Faith 433 Look but upon a spire of grass. 1849 O. A. Brownson Wks. VII. 18 We know that a spire of grass grows, but how it grows we know not. 1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling vi. 204 The Wrentail..may be seen in the fine sunny weather sunning itself on the long spires of grass. c. U.S. Similarly of hair; = spear n.² 2c. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > hair > [noun] > shoot or sprout of spear1852 spire1868 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. xv. 239 I'd do as much for our Jimmy any day if I had a spire of hair worth selling. 4. A long slender and tapering growth in a plant: a. The awn or beard of grain. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > cereal plants or corn > awn of corn aileOE jag1519 spire1530 stang1808 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 274 Spyre of corne, barbe du ble. 1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. 234 Spires, the horns of barley. †b. The stigma of the crocus, from which saffron is obtained. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > iris and related flowers > crocus > part of spire1631 1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxviii The saffron yeelds an odoriferous and cordiall spire, whiles both the flowre, and the root are unpleasing. 5. An elongated or pointed shoot or tongue of fire or flame. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > [noun] > flame or blaze > elongated spirec1450 streamer1758 flame-banner1880 c1450 Mirk's Festial 102 And when he come done to þe pepull,..two spyres of fyre stoden out of hys hed lyke two hornes. 1621 G. Sandys tr. Ovid First Five Bks. Metamorphosis ii. 36 Parnassus grones beneath two flaming spires. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 223 On each hand the flames Drivn backward slope their pointing spires . View more context for this quotation 1812 Examiner 21 Sept. 597/1 Spires of smoking flame. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 993 If the gas be copious, the flame elongates into a sharp spire. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith ix. 383 An immense instinct in his nature points upward, like a spire of flame. 6. a. A conical, tapering, pointed body or part of something; a sharp point. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part goadeOE pikeOE point1390 broad arrowhead1545 spire1551 pick1614–15 stob1637 icicle1644 arrow point1655 spike1718 jagger1825 spear-point1861 spear-head1894 1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. Defin. They are lyke in foorme to two such cantles ioyned togither..: or els it is called a rounde spire, or stiple fourme. 1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. i. Defin. A square spire. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 78 Of the Spire or Taper called Pyramis. 1632 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) i. 22 The whole skie being all the night long in the beames of the Sun (that little spire, the shadowe of the Earth excepted). 1658 tr. G. della Porta Nat. Magick 393 Make.. [a] vessel in the fashion of a Tunnel, or a round Pyramis;..let the spire of it..be open. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 386 The narrow'r end I sharpen'd to a spire. 1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab iv. 45 Icicles..So stainless, that their white and glittering spires Tinge not the moon's pure beam. 1885 Harper's Mag. Apr. 703 She..directed the capping of her hemp-stacks till the spires were..symmetric. b. A branch or prong of a deer's horn. (Cf. speer n.²) Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > body and parts > antler > branch antlera1398 startc1400 tinec1480 branch1484 advancer1486 knag1578 speer1607 spire1607 snag1673 tang1688 point1780 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 119 I haue seene the hornes to haue seauen spires or braunches. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 124 At one yeare old they haue nothing but small bunches,..at three yeares they grow forked into two spieres. 1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 26 Haughty Prelates..with their forked Miters,..in stead of healing up the gashes of the Church,..fall to gore one another with their sharpe spires. c. A metal spike or rod. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > fact or condition of tapering > condition of tapering to a point > [noun] > pointed object or part > metal spike gadc1225 polepike1451 spear1607 spirec1710 c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 52 A little wall of a yard High of free Stone very ffine wrought, on which are to be Iron railes and spires. 1750 in D. Gilbert Paroch. Hist. Cornwall (1838) III. 430 One of those rocks..with an iron spire at the top thereof. 7. a. A tall, slender, sharp-pointed summit, peak, rock, or column. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rocky peak > [noun] tor847 pinnaclec1330 rassec1400 spire1586 prick1604 needle1721 pillar1780 needle rock1784 aiguille1816 nunatak1877 hoodoo1880 1586 G. Whitney Choice of Emblemes 1 A mightie Spyre, whose toppe dothe pierce the skie. 1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 202 About an Harquebuz-shotte from Matarea is a spire of great height like to that at Rome. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 577 The Ægyptians..speake much of these two Pyramides, the mighty spires and steeples whereof..do arise out of the very water. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 22 Mæottis rises very high with a Peake or Pyramidall Spire. 1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 269 The whole Surface of the Rock shall rise into Points or Spires. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women liv, in Poems (new ed.) 135 All night the splintered crags that wall the dell With spires of silver shine. 1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 78 Like a spire of land that stands apart Cleft from the main. 1855 D. T. Ansted in Orr's Circle Sci.: Inorg. Nature 143 The spires, or needle-shaped detached rocks, called in Switzerland aiguilles. b. poetic. A pyramidal heap or pile of something. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile > pyramidal pyramid1570 spire1818 1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 14 On the shrine he heap'd a spire Of teeming sweets, enkindling sacred fire. 8. A tall structure rising from a tower, roof, etc., and terminating in a slender point; esp. the tapering portion of the steeple of a cathedral or church, usually carried to a great height and constituting one of the chief architectural features of the building. (Cf. spear n.² 1)So Middle Low German spyre (1392), Swedish spira, Danish and Norwegian spir. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > tower or steeple > [noun] > spire shaftc1450 steeple1473 broach1501 spire1596 broach-steeple1600 prang1929 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > superstructure above a roof > spire steeple1473 spear1480 spire-steeple1559 spire1596 spiracle1842 stump-spire1842 spirelet1848 needle-spire1864 Skylon1950 1596 T. Lodge Wits Miserie B iiij b His beard is cut like the spier of Grantham steeple. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 739 An high towre in the midest and two spire at the West end. 1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. iv. 117 The Spire of the Cathedrall Church of Pauls, being..two hundred and sixty [feet] from the square Steeple where it was placed. 1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite i, in Fables 9 The Temples crown'd With golden Spires. 1709 J. Swift Baucis & Philemon 3 The Chimney widen'd and grew higher, Became a Steeple with a Spire. 1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VII. v. 15 The steeple which has a spire to it, is placed in the middle of the church. 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. iv. 59 The spire of a church..indicated the situation of a village. 1866 M. Arnold Thyrsis iii, in Macmillan's Mag. Apr. 449 And that sweet City with her dreaming spires,..Lovely all times she lies, lovely to-night. 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. v. 310 Queenly Lübeck had not yet begun to cover her peninsula with her stately spires, her soaring gateways. in extended use.1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 77 My consciousness should be diffused abroad in all the forest, and give a common heart to that assembly of green spires. 9. figurative. The highest point, summit, or top of something. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > highest point or top headOE copa1000 heightOE topc1000 highestlOE crest1382 coperounc1400 summita1425 summity?a1425 toppet1439 altitude?a1475 upperest1484 principala1533 pitcha1552 supremity1584 culm1587 period1595 spire1600 upward1608 cope1609 fastigium1641 vertex1641 culmen1646 supreme1652 tip-top1702 peak1785 helm1893 altaltissimo1975 1600 J. Dowland 2nd Bk. Songs sig. Bij^v From the highest spire of contentment, my fortune is throwne. 1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. v. vi. 178/1 The Romans that stroue to mount hie on the spires of their intended glory. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. x. 24 To silence that, Which to the spire, and top of prayses vouch'd, Would seeme but modest. View more context for this quotation Compounds C1. attributive and in other combinations. a. (a) In senses 1 – 3, as spire-end. Also spire-grass n. ΚΠ a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 207 The germen, or the spire~end of the barley. (b) spire-bed n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant > collective or bed of reeds reedeOE spirea1250 reed bed1483 reedbeere1585 stover1621 reedlings1830 spire-bed1863 1863 J. R. Wise New Forest Gloss. Spire-bed, a place where the ‘spires’, that is, the reed-canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), grow. spire mint n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > mint or spearmint minteOE spearmint1562 brown mint1597 mackerel mint1597 green mint1770 pudina1842 spire mint1863 1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants Spear-mint or Spire-mint, from its spiry, not capitate inflorescence. spire reed n. dialect (see quots.). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > reed or the reed plant reedeOE spirea1425 pole-reed1578 pool reed1587 reed-grass1597 marsh-reed1797 flag-reed1833 Phragmites1840 toi-toi1843 fox's foot1853 spire reed1863 trumpet reed1866 bango1899 kamish1902 Norfolk reed1952 1863 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants Spires, or Spire-reed, the pool reed, Arundo phragmites. b. (a) In sense 8, as spire-growth, spire-passion, spire-top. See also spire-steeple n. ΚΠ 1853 C. Wickes Illustr. Spires & Towers Eng. (title page) The Architecture of the Middle Ages, and its Spire-Growth. 1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights II. 144 The flag of England, fluttering on the spire~top, grew ever fainter and fainter. 1944 E. Blunden Cricket Country v. 64 There is only one person known to me who quite equals my spire-passion. (b) spire-light n. a window in a spire. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > other types of window loop1393 shot-windowc1405 gable window1428 batement light1445 church window1458 shot1513 casement1538 dream-hole1559 luket1564 draw window1567 loop-window1574 loophole1591 tower-windowc1593 thorough lights1600 squinch1602 turret window1603 slit1607 close-shuts1615 gutter window1620 street lighta1625 balcony-window1635 clere-story window1679 slip1730 air-loop1758 Venetian1766 Venetian window1775 sidelight1779 lancet window1781 French casement1804 double window1819 couplet1844 spire-light1846 lancet1848 tower-light1848 triplet1849 bar-window1857 pair-light1868 nook window1878 coupled windows1881 three-light1908–9 north-light1919 storm window1933 borrowed light1934 Thermopane1941 storms1952 1846 Archaeol. Jrnl. 2 3 The spire itself, at about half its height, is encircled by spire-lights. spire-roof n. a steeply sloping roof rising up into a spire. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun] > types of roof generally vaulta1387 plat-roofa1425 pend1454 faunsere1460 compassed roofa1552 terrace1572 sotie1578 crown1588 arch-roof1594 arch1609 under-roof1611 concameration1644 voltoa1660 hip roof1663 French roof1669 oversail1673 jerkinhead1703 mansard1704 curb-roof1733 shed roof1736 gable roof1759 gambrel roof1761 living roof1792 pent roof1794 span-roof1823 wagon-head1823 azotea1824 rafter roof1825 rooflet1825 wagon-vault1835 bell-roof1842 spire-roof1842 cradle-roof1845 packsaddle roof1845 open roof1847 umbrella roof1847 gambrel1848 packsaddle1848 compass-roof1849 saddleback1849 saddle roof1850 curbed roof1866 wagon-roof1866 saw-tooth roof1900 trough roof1905 skillion roof1911 north-light roof1923 shell roof1954 green roof1984 knee-roof- 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 356 The cathedrals of Worms and Gelnhausen..exhibit many varieties of spires, or rather spire-roofs, springing up from gables at their base. C2. With past participles or adjectives (chiefly instrumental and similative), as spire-adorned, spire-crowned, spire-shaped, spire-topped adjs.; spire-like, spire-straight adjs. ΚΠ 1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 29 He toil'd up the spire-topt hill. 1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 32/1 This..is covered by a very steep, or spire-shaped roof. 1879 W. Carleton Farm Ballads (new ed.) 87 The turreted, spire-adorned city. 1885 E. P. Warren & C. F. M. Cleverly Wanderings ‘Beetle’ 56 The famous Roche à Bayard, rising almost sheer from the river, soars to its spire-like peak. 1893 Daily News 27 Apr. 5/5 Each corner is adorned with a spire-crowned pavilion. 1933 C. Day Lewis Magnetic Mountain 26 There, as a candle's beam Stands firm and will not waver Spire-straight in a close chamber. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021). spiren.² Forms: Middle English–1500s spyre, Middle English spyr, spyer, spierre, 1600s spier, Middle English, 1600s– spire. Etymology: apparently of Continental origin, corresponding in sense 1 to Old Norse spíra (Norwegian and Swedish spira , Danish spire ), Low German spiere , spier , Middle Dutch spier (rare), North Frisian spîr , West Frisian spier , spjirre . The original locality of the word, and its relation to spire n.¹, are not clear. Chiefly Scottish and northern dialect. †1. a. A spar or pole of timber; a bar or moderately long piece of wood. Obsolete. (Cf. spar n.¹ 1, 3.) ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > in form of bar, pole, rod, etc. stingc725 stakec893 sowelc900 tree971 rungOE shaftc1000 staffc1000 stockc1000 poleOE spritOE luga1250 lever1297 stanga1300 perchc1300 raftc1330 sheltbeam1336 stower1371 palea1382 spar1388 spire1392 perk1396 ragged staff1397 peela1400 slot1399 plantc1400 heck-stower1401 sparkin1408 cammockc1425 sallow stakec1440 spoke1467 perk treec1480 yard1480 bode1483 spit1485 bolm1513 gada1535 ruttock1542 stob1550 blade1558 wattle1570 bamboo1598 loggat1600 barling1611 sparret1632 picket1687 tringle1706 sprund1736 lug-pole1773 polting lug1789 baton1801 stuckin1809 rack-pin1821 picket-pin1844 I-iron1874 pricker1875 stag1881 podger1888 window pole1888 verge1897 sallow pole1898 lat1899 swizzle-stick1962 1392 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 115 In iij spyres emp. de Joh. de Morpath pro skaffald, 15d. c1400 Gamelyn 503 Gamelyn spreyniþ holi water with an oken spire. c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 17170 [They] spered the ȝates wel and faste With many a spire that wel wolde laste. 1419 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 144 Et in ij spyrys de esch emt. pro reparacione unius domus,..5d. 1470 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 339 Noo freman [shall] goo without the citte to by hides, tallow, spirys, bordes. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 221 There lyeth foorth farther out a fouresquare beame or spire. †b. The pole or shaft of a chariot. Also attributive. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > parts of cart or carriage > [noun] > shaft(s) or pole thillc1325 limber1480 sway1535 neap1553 draught-tree1580 wain-beam1589 beam1600 fills1609 spire1609 foreteam?1611 verge1611 shaft1613 rangy1657 pole1683 thrill1688 trill1688 rod1695 range1702 neb1710 sharp1733 tram1766 carriage pole1767 sill1787 tongue1792 nib1808 dissel-boom1822 tongue-tree1829 reach1869 wain-stang1876 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 222 From the very midst of these ropes there riseth forth a beame of wood overthwart, and after the fashion of a yoke spire or tiller erected. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 29 They were wont to..run along the spire-pole and beame of the chariot. 2. A young tree suitable for making into a spar; a sapling. Also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > characterized by age or life cycle > [noun] > young tree or sapling spire1392 sapling1415 springa1450 sipling1513 spear1543 gelding1562 saple1589 tiller1664 treeling1847 timberline1867 treelet1874 pole1882 1392 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 116 In xxxij spyres emp. de Will. Mayllour, 16s. 4d. Et in eisdem prosternandis, 7d. 1543 in J. R. Walbran Mem. Abbey St. Mary of Fountains (1863) I. 413 [Survey of woods], Young oke spyres,..small ashe spyres. 1620 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1884) II. For cutting and stealing in Watlas Springe, two ash~spires. 1634 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. (STC 12640.5) 166 Like a wood new felled, that hath some few spires left for standers. 1703 London Gaz. No. 3975/4 Persons having any small young Spire Elm Timber to dispose of. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 394 Many times a Spire Elm will begin to grow hollow at the bottom when any of its Roots happen to perish. 1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 355 Spires, timber stands (not common). 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 275 Spires, young trees that shoot up a considerable height before they branch out and form a head. 1876 Davidson's Precedents V. i. 225 All timber and other trees, pollards, spires, and saplings. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022). spiren.³ /spʌɪə/ Forms: Also 1500s spyre. Etymology: < French spire (= Italian spira, Spanish espira, Portuguese espira), or < Latin spīra, < Greek σπεῖρα coil, twist, winding. 1. One of the series of complete convolutions forming a coil or spiral. a. One of the sinuous folds or windings of a serpent, etc.; a coil. Chiefly in plural. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] rundlec1300 waif1513 enwrapping1543 convolution1545 entrail?a1549 wreath1555 roundness1572 spire1572 rolling1576 enfold1578 infold1578 obvolution1578 gyre1590 whorl1592 enfoldment1593 twine1600 turn1625 volume1646 volution1752 swirl1786 coil1805 swirling1825 convolute1846 whirl1862 enfolding1873 snaking1888 1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bathes Ayde ii. f. 14 Y^e pypes did resemble the Spyres of a Dragon. 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 236 Sometimes also they [sc. serpents] sette vp such a Spire aboue the water, that a boate or little Barke without sayles may passe thorow the same. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 502 [The Serpent] erect Amidst his circling Spires, that on the grass Floted redundant. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden Alexander's Feast ii. 2 A Dragon's fiery Form bely'd the God: Sublime on Radiant Spires He rode. 1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) iv. 32 Now glaring Fiends, and Snakes on rolling Spires. 1820 L. Hunt Indicator 8 Mar. 175 Tired out at length, they trail their spires, and gasp. 1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. II. v. 156 There was the reptile,..Renewing its detested spire and spire Around me. b. In general or technical use. ΚΠ 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 150 The humour about the vitall spire [sc. the bowels]. 1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xiv. v. 557 If on the third day..the spires or windings [of the bandage] be found more loose. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) London 194 With anfractuous spires, and cocleary turnings about it. 1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 295 A great ox-horn,—the arm was twisted round its spires. 1822 P. B. Shelley Fragm. Unfinished Drama 196 The plant..trailing its quaint spires Along the garden and across the lawn. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 473 Rifles should not be too deeply indented;..and the spires should be truly parallel. 1870 Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1869 8 The center of a coil of many spires of fine wire forming part of the galvanic circuit. 2. A spiral; a series of spiral curves or coils. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > a spiral worm line1551 spire1611 spiral1656 1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D^v Fvl... Binde my haire vp... Gal. Will you ha't i' the globe, or spire ? View more context for this quotation 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Spiral 'Tis called from its Inventor, Archimedes's Spire, or Helix. 1761 Brit. Mag. 2 642 Of those perfect spires which lie in the same plane, there are two sorts. The first contains those curves whose spaces, or the distances between each circumvolution, are equal, commonly called Archimedes' spire. 1801 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. II. ii. 391 The principal distinction of the Spanish Sheep is the fineness of the fleece, and the horizontally extended spire of the horns. 1887 D. Maguire Art of Massage (ed. 4) iv. 114 These frictions are applied in every possible direction,..now in a rectangular way, now obliquely describing spires and concentric..curves. 3. A curl or wreath of smoke, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [noun] > of smoke, mist, or cloud wralling1398 wreath1633 spire1699 wreathing1818 folding1853 1699 S. Garth Dispensary i. 6 Aromatick Clouds in Spires ascend. 1705 G. Cheyne Philos. Princ. Nat. Relig. i. 68 Air seems to consist of Spires contorted into small Spheres. 1770 Philos. Trans. 1769 (Royal Soc.) 59 334 There was not a spire of smoke to be perceived. †4. As the name of a shell. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell seashella900 shale1561 buckie1596 caracol1622 valve1661 spire1681 umbilicus1688 conch-shell1697 wart-shell?1711 needle1713 multivalve1753 concha1755 periosteum1758 conch1773 devil's claw1773 furbelow1776 peewit's egg1776 worm-tube1776 rosebud1815 sheath1815 periostracum1833 epicuticle1885 epicuticula1886 leg of mutton1891 trivalve1891 1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. vi. i. 132 The Level-Whirle, or the Spire. 5. Conchology. The upper convoluted portion of a spiral shell, consisting of all the whorls except the body-whorl. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Mollusca > [noun] > Testacea (shelled molluscs) > shelled mollusc > shell > part of > spiral shell and parts turben1669 turban1681 clavicle1774 spire1822 turbination1834 volution1884 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 150 A shield-formed, subconical univalve; no spire. 1851 G. F. Richardson Introd. Geol. (1855) 240 The spire forms a very important feature in the univalves, and on its being raised, flattened, concealed, or reversed, depend many of the generic and specific distinctions of the shells. 1870 G. Rolleston Forms Animal Life 51 The greater part of the shell has been removed, but a part of the spire has been left. Compounds attributive and in other combinations, as spire-shell, spire-ward adj.; spire-bearer n. Conchology a spirifer. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Brachiopoda > [noun] > miscellaneous types of Spirifer1835 rhynchonellid1865 spire-bearer1881 articulate1905 1713 J. Petiver Aquatilium Animalium Amboinæ ix Thread listed Spire-shell. 1880 Linn. Soc. Jrnl. 15 104 A broader furrow, in the bottom of which runs the suture on the spire~ward side of a fine rounded thread. 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 265 The Spire-Bearers. The name..is derived from the spiral shape assumed by the calcareous labial appendages which nearly fill the interior of the dorsal valve. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2021). † spiren.⁴ Scottish. Obsolete. = speer n.¹ ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > screen > [noun] > other types of speer1379 traverse1400 transom-lattice1689 blind1730 window blind1730 spire1768 Venetian window-blind1769 window shade1789 tatty1792 tat1810 Japanese screen1872 fusuma1880 curtain1895 mosquito door1929 tuku-tuku1936 fly-wire door1952 table screen1971 1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 136 I's no seek near the fire,—Let me but rest my weary banes, Behind backs at the spire. 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 406 The spire in a cottage, is properly the stem or leg of an earth-fast couple, reaching from the floor to the top of the wall. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021). spiren.⁵ Etymology: Variant of spayard n.The form may be due to spire n.¹ (compare sense 6b at that entry). rare. = spayard n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > in its third year spayarda1425 sorrel1486 spire1856 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports i. x. 82 The Brocket has only small projections, called knobbers, with small brow antlers; the Spire a brow antler [etc.]. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Spire,..a male deer of three years old. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022). spiren.⁶ Coal Mining. (See quot. 1883.) ΚΠ 1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 231 Spires, coal of a hard, dull, slaty nature, and difficult to break up. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2019). spirev.¹ /spʌɪə/ Forms: Also Middle English–1500s spyre, 1500s spyer. Etymology: < spire n.¹ Compare Norwegian and Swedish spira , Dutch spire , in sense 1. 1. a. intransitive. Of seeds, grain, etc.: To send forth or develop shoots, esp. the first shoot or acrospire; to germinate, sprout. Also with out. Now rare or Obsolete. (Cf. spear v.²) ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > grow or vegetate [verb (intransitive)] > sprout or put forth new growth spriteOE wrideOE brodc1175 comea1225 spirec1325 chicka1400 sprouta1400 germin?1440 germ1483 chip?a1500 spurgea1500 to put forth1530 shootc1560 spear1570 stock1574 chit1601 breward1609 pullulate1618 ysproutc1620 egerminate1623 put1623 germinate1626 sprent1647 fruticate1657 stalk1666 tiller1677 breerc1700 fork1707 to put out1731 stool1770 sucker1802 stir1843 push1855 braird1865 fibre1869 flush1877 c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 158 Ben germée, [wel atome (? acome); v.r.] spired. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum xvii. xliii. (Tollem. MS.) Many men hangen oynones and garlek in þe smoke ouer þe fyre,..for þey schulde nouȝt spire and growe. Ofte oynones and garlek spireþ, þouȝe þey be nouȝt in erþe. c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1034 Now curneles of mixe hit is to keste In molde in sum vessell, so fele attonys As wel may spire. 1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy iii. xvii, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 143 Then shall thy seeds both roote and spyre. 1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. iii. i. f. 95^v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The workeman not suffring it [sc. malting barley]..to take any heate, whereby the bud ende shoulde spire. 1679 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 3) 8 If they [i.e. seeds] spire out before you sow them, be sure you commit them to the earth before the Sprout grows dry. 1729 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 569 As they [sc. crocus roots] then begin to spire, and are ready to shew themselves above Ground. 1765 Museum Rusticum 3 223 There is a sure disappointment in buying such grain, as the kerns will spire at different times. in extended use.1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 9 Thee Troian Cæsar shal spire fro this auncetrye regal. †b. transitive. To produce; to put forth. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > produce or bring forth doeOE makelOE to bring forthc1175 farrow?c1225 childc1350 fodmec1390 raise1402 spring?1440 upbringc1440 breed1526 procreate1546 hatch1549 generate1556 product1577 deprompt1586 produce1587 spire1590 sprout1598 represent1601 effer1606 depromea1652 germinate1796 output1858 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. v. sig. Gg8 In..race Of woman kind it fayrest flowre doth spyre, And beareth fruit of honour and all chast desyre. 1591 E. Spenser Ruines of Time in Complaints Ded. The seede of most entire loue..; which taking roote..would in their riper strength..[have] spired forth fruit of more perfection. 2. intransitive. Of plants, corn, etc.: To run up into a tall stem, stalk, or spike; to grow upwards instead of developing laterally. Now dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > grow or vegetate [verb (intransitive)] > grow or increase in size > and ripen spire1398 the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > grow in a specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > grow in upward direction or spire spire1398 mount1578 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvii. lxxvi Ȝif þei beþ i-suffred in þe bigynnynge to growe to swiþe þan þei spireþ & sedeþ to sone & leseþ to sone here fairenes & grene coloure. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 469 Spyryn, as corne and oþer lyke, spico. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 728 I spyer, as corne dothe whan it begynneth to waxe rype, je espie. a1618 J. Sylvester New-Hiervsalem in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 1114 There, Mead, & Field, spring, spire, & yeeld; Rills, Milke and Hony gush. 1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 163 As often as they spire, crop them. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Spire, to grow up into an Ear, as Corn does. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Spire, to shoot up luxuriantly. 1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss. Spire, to grow rapidly, shoot upwards quickly. 1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words (at cited word) A tree or plant which shoots out in length and not proportionately in breadth is said to spire. 3. To rise or shoot up into a spire or spire-shaped form; to rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire; to mount or soar aloft. Also with up. a. Of flames or fire. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > become fire [verb (intransitive)] > blaze or flame > flame in specific shape to stand upc1300 spire1591 tongue1814 1591 E. Spenser Ruines of Rome in Complaints sig. R4^v As ye see huge flames spred diuerslie, Gathered in one vp to the heauens to spyre. a1651 N. Culverwell Elegant Disc. Light of Nature (1652) i. xviii. 200 The Candle of the Lord;..'tis fain to spire up, and climbe up..in a Pyramidal forme. 1816 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson (1857) I. 181 The flame of its wick spired slightly into length. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 993 If the tip begins to spire, he drops down on one knee, and holding the candle near the pavement, gradually raises it up. 1867 G. MacDonald Disciple & other Poems 53 Each ripple waves a flickering fire..; They laugh and flash, and leap and spire. b. Of edifices, rocks, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rocky peak > rise to peak [verb (intransitive)] spire1687 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > become high(er) [verb (intransitive)] > extend to a great or considerable height mount1573 tower1582 aspire1591 spire1687 soar1812 uptower1848 steeple1892 the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > hill or mountain > [verb (intransitive)] > rise in peak peak1577 spire1687 society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > continue building to given height > build up in form of spire spire1748 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 60 A square Minaret that spires into a Pyramid. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson i. vii. 74 These rocks terminate in a vast number of ragged points, which spire up to a prodigious height. 1790 T. Pennant Of London (1813) 581 They spire into very elegant pinnacles. 1818 H. H. Milman Samor xi. 308 Sudden around 'gan spire the mountain tops. 1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 21 A city..Which Merlin's hand,..had touch'd, and everywhere.., tipt with lessening peak And pinnacle, and had made it spire to heaven. c. Of leaves, branches, or trees. ΚΠ 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 330 It will be convenient..to leave a leading Branch near the top to spire up and cover the wound. 1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 136 The leaves only grow at the Top longwise, pointed as those of the Flower-de-lis, spiring, and opposite one to the other. 1798 S. T. Coleridge Picture 115 The crowded firs Spire from thy shores, and stretch across thy bed. 1870 S. Baring-Gould In Exitu Israel I. i. 1 The upstart poplars..spire above the venerable trees. d. In figurative use. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] styc825 astyc950 ariseOE upstyOE to step upOE upcomec1000 to come upOE to go upOE upwendc1200 runge?c1225 amountc1275 upgoa1325 heavec1325 uparise1340 ascend1382 higha1393 lifta1400 risea1400 skilla1400 uprisea1400 raisec1400 rearc1400 surmount1430 to get upc1450 transcenda1513 springa1525 upmounta1560 assurge?1567 hove1590 surgea1591 tower1618 hoist1647 upheave1649 to draw up1672 spire1680 insurrect1694 soar1697 upsoar1726 uprear1828 higher1889 1680 W. Temple Ess. Orig. & Nature Govt. in Wks. (1720) I. 105 A Common~wealth, the more it takes in of the general Humour and Bent of the People, and the more it spires up to a Head by the Authority of some one Person. 1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 6 Uprose the merry Sphynx, And crouched no more in stone,..She spired into a yellow flame, She flowered in blossoms red. 4. transitive. a. To build up in the form of a spire. ΚΠ 1750 C. Wren Parentalia 307 The Ground-work being settled, they had nothing else to do but to spire all up as they could. b. To direct or point upwards. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > specific directions > direct in specific directions [verb (transitive)] > direct or turn upwards to turn up?c1335 arrecta1529 upturn1667 spire1839 1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 53 Nay, I love Death. But Immortality, with finger spired, Points to a distant, giant world. c. To pierce with a sharp and lofty peak. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate > with something sharp-pointed > with a peak spire1874 1874 S. Lanier In Absence iii, in Poems (1892) 75 An Alp sublime..Spiring the world's prismatic atmosphere. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2021). † spirev.² Forms: Also Middle English–1500s spyre. Etymology: < Old French spirer, espirer (= Spanish espirar, Portuguese espirar, Italian spirare), or Latin spīrāre to breathe. Obsolete. 1. intransitive or absol. To breathe; to blow gently; to come forth or out as breath. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > exhalation > exhale [verb (intransitive)] breathea1382 spirea1382 blazec1384 inspire1513 tuff?1553 to breathe out1576 huff1582 expire1633 outbreathe1638 aspirec1750 exhale1863 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xliii. 17 In his wil shal spiren, or brethen, out the south. a1395 W. Hylton Scala Perfeccionis ii. xli. (Bodl. 592) Þe hooli goost spireþ where he wole & þou heerist his voice, but þou woost not fro whennes he comeþ or whidir he goiþ. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Qiii^v Let the swete odour of deuocion and prayer spyre out and ascende vp to thy lorde and spouse. 1535 G. Joye Apol. Tindale sig. C.viii^v Here may ye smel out of what stynkyng breste and poysoned virulent throte thys peivisshe Pistle spyrethe and breathed forthe. 2. transitive. To breathe (air, etc.). Const. into. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > breathe [verb (transitive)] spire1382 breathea1398 respire?a1425 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. ii. 7 The Lord God thanne fourmede man of the slyme of the erthe, and spiride in to the face of hym an entre of breth of lijf. 3. a. To breathe forth or out, to create or produce by the agency of the breath.Used in the past participle of the Holy Spirit in relation to the other Persons of the Trinity. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > of God workOE rearOE shapeOE makeOE raisec1384 to set (something) on (also upon) sevenc1390 spire1435 the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > [verb (transitive)] > create Holy Spirit by agency of breath spire1435 R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 16 Þe sone is cald, be-caus of þe fadyr he is gottyn; þe holy goste, be-caus of bothe þe holy fader & holy sone he is spiryd. 1614 J. Day Dyall 49 He is tearmed a Spirit..because he is spired or breathed from the Father and the Sonne. 1645 J. Ussher Body of Divin. (1647) 86. b. To pour out by or as by breathing; to emit or give forth (odour). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > exhalation > exhale [verb (transitive)] fnastc1400 to breathe out1556 outbreathe1563 aspire1575 exhale1589 expire1590 expirate1615 spirate1649 spire1649 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > as by breathing breathea1425 respire1577 expire?1606 spire1649 1649 R. Lovelace Lucasta: Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs 77 The rosin-lightning [should] flash, and Monster spire Squibs, and words hotter then his fire. 1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ Def. xviii. 321 The leaves..gently toucht do spire forth an excellent odour. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021). spirev.³ /spʌɪə/ Etymology: < spire n.³ intransitive. To curl, twist, or wind spirally; to make a spiral curve; esp. to mount or soar with spiral movement. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from spire v.¹ ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (intransitive)] twinec1300 foldc1330 writhea1413 twind1575 spire1607 wreathe1776 coil1798 scroll1868 threada1879 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > move in a circle or curve [verb (intransitive)] > move in spirals pirl1538 spire1607 curl1791 whorl1805 coil1816 spiral1835 spiralize1851 corkscrew1853 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] > rise or go up in other manner upsmite1446 spire1607 eruct1666 uptoss1828 upshoot1876 hulk1880 upwind1880 fountain1903 bob-up1935 the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > soar soarc1374 sord14.. eagle1652 upsoar1726 spirea1849 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 54 The hornes [of the Bonasus] are recurued..so that they do not spire directly downeward but rather forward. 1718 Entertainer No. 41. 280 It is a Pitchy-smoak, and wheresoever it curls and spires, there we may..find the..Fire of Virtue. 1824 L.-M. Hawkins Annaline II. 232 The whirlwind came spiring upwards. a1849 T. L. Beddoes Poems (1851) I. 214 The amazed circle of scared eagles Spire to the clouds. 1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen 125 The worms that spired about his bones. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online September 2018). < n.¹a1000n.²1392n.³1572n.⁴1768n.⁵1856n.⁶1883v.¹c1325v.²a1382v.³1607
随便看	concert director complanations complane complant complantation complanted comple complease complect complected complecting complects complement complement a person with complement away, out of complement it complement of a logarithm complement of an arc or angle complement of life complement of the curtain complement with complement-fixation complement-fixing complemental complemental air

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