spire
Meaning
-
- The stalk or stem of a plant.
- A young shoot of a plant; a spear.
- Any of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges, such as the marram, the reed canary-grass, etc.
- A sharp or tapering point.
- A tapering structure built on a roof or tower, especially as one of the central architectural features of a church or cathedral roof.
- The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit.
- A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the charge in blasting.
Synonyms
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/spaɪə/
Etymology
In summary
From Middle English spire, spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīrō, *spīrǭ (“peak; point; tip; stalk”). Cognate with Dutch spier, German Low German Spier, German Spier, Spiere, Danish spir, Norwegian spir and spire, Swedish spira, Icelandic spíra.
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Notes