- spire shell
- n. a marine or freshwater mollusk with a long conical spiral shell. ● Hydrobiidae and related families, class Gastropoda
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
spire shell
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spire — spire1 [spīr] n. [Fr < L spira < Gr speira < IE base * sper , to turn, wrap > Latvian sprangāt, to lace up] 1. a spiral or coil 2. any of the convolutions of a spiral or coil 3. Zool. the upper part of a spiral shell of a gastropod… … English World dictionary
Spire (mollusc) — A spire is a descriptive term for part of the shell of a snail, a gastropod mollusc shell or gastropod shell. The spire consists of all of the whorls of a coiled gastropod shell except for the body whorl.ome different types of spireTurbinoform or … Wikipedia
spire — spire1 spireless, adj. /spuyeur/, n., v., spired, spiring. n. 1. a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc. 2. a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple. See illus. under steeple. 3.… … Universalium
spire´like´ — spire1 «spyr», noun, verb, spired, spir|ing. –n. 1. a) the top part of a tower or steeple that narrows to a point: »The steeple, which has a spire to it, is placed in the middle of the church (Laurence Sterne) … Useful english dictionary
spire — I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English spīr; akin to Middle Dutch spier blade of grass Date: before 12th century 1. a slender tapering blade or stalk (as of grass) 2. the upper tapering part of something (as a tree or antler) ;… … New Collegiate Dictionary
spire — I. /ˈspaɪə / (say spuyuh) noun 1. a tall, tapering structure, generally an elongated, upright cone or pyramid, erected on a tower, roof, etc. 2. such a structure forming the upper part of the steeple, or the whole steeple. 3. a tapering, pointed… …
spire — I [[t]spaɪər[/t]] n. v. spired, spir•ing 1) archit. a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc 2) archit. a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple. See illus. at steeple 3) a tall,… … From formal English to slang
spire — 1. n. & v. n. 1 a tapering cone or pyramid shaped structure built esp. on a church tower (cf. STEEPLE). 2 the continuation of a tree trunk above the point where branching begins. 3 any tapering thing, e.g. the spike of a flower. v.tr. provide… … Useful english dictionary
spire — n. [L. spira, coil] (MOLLUSCA: Gastropoda) The complete series of whorls of a spiral shell except the last … Dictionary of invertebrate zoology
spire angle — (MOLLUSCA: Gastropoda) In plane through entire shell axis, angle between two straight lines that touch all the whorls on opposite sides; these lines can only be drawn if the rate of the whorl increase is constant … Dictionary of invertebrate zoology
