spiring
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spire 1
(spīr)n.
1. A top part or structure that tapers upward, such as a rock formation or steeple.
2. A slender, tapering plant part.
v. spired, spir·ing, spires
v.tr.
To furnish with a spire.
v.intr.
To rise and taper steeply.
[Middle English, from Old English spīr.]
spire 2
(spīr)n.
1.
a. A spiral.
b. A single turn of a spiral; a whorl.
2. The area farthest from the aperture and nearest the apex on a coiled gastropod shell.
[Latin spīra, coil, from Greek speira.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.