spire

Noun

1. (archaic) The stalk or stem of a plant.
2. A young shoot of a plant; a spear.
3. Any of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges, such as the marram, the reed canary-grass, etc.
4. A sharp or tapering point.
5. A tapering structure built on a roof or tower, especially as one of the central architectural features of a church or cathedral roof.
6. The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit.
7. A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the charge in blasting.

Verb

1. to sprout, to send forth the early shoots of growth; to germinate.
2. To grow upwards rather than develop horizontally.
3. (transitive) To furnish with a spire.

Verb

To breathe.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/spaɪə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: spire

Inherited from Old English: spīr

Cognate with Dutch: spier

Cognate with German: Spier

Cognate with Danish: spir

Cognate with Norwegian: spir

Cognate with Swedish: spira

Cognate with Icelandic: spíra

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.

Synonyms

steeple

tower

pinnacle

spiral

summit

coil

belfry

dome

helical line

helix

keep

lighthouse

minaret

obelisk

pagoda

panicle

rook

tall building

spiral line

aiguille

highest point

broach

campanile

castle

🏰

conchoid

crown

👑

cupola

Translations

flèche

Turmspitze

guglia

aguja

chapitel

flecha

iglica

flecha

agulha

espira

Turm

spits

torenspits

agulla

Kirchturmspitze