4 entries 1 source

Spire

Open directly

Webster's 1828 Dictionary · 1828 1 of 4

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A slender stalk or blade in vegetation; as, a spire grass or of wheat. An oak cometh up a little spire. Chaucer.

2. A tapering body that shoots up or out to a point in a conical or pyramidal form. Specifically (Arch.), the roof of a tower when of a pyramidal form and high in proportion to its width; also, the pyramidal or aspiring termination of a tower which can not be said to have a roof, such as that of Strasburg cathedral; the tapering part of a steeple, or the steeple itself. "With glistering spires and pinnacles adorned." Milton. A spire of land that stand apart, Cleft from the main. Tennyson. Tall spire from which the sound of cheerful bells Just undulates upon the listening ear. Cowper.

3. A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the chargen in blasting.

4. The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit. The spire and top of praises. Shak.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary · 1828 2 of 4

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A spiral; a curl; a whorl; a twist. Dryden.

2. The part of a spiral generated in one revolution of the straight line about the pole. See Spiral, n. Spire bearer. (Paleon.) Same as Spirifer.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary · 1828 3 of 4

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To breathe. [Obs.] Shenstone.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary · 1828 4 of 4

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To shoot forth, or up in, or as if in, a spire. Emerson. It is not so apt to spire up as the other sorts, being more inclined to branch into arms. Mortimer.

Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Structured JSON vendored from sktzofrenic/webster1828 at commit 5a58d9e0191eefaa51affbc1bb1b8bc5782ba6c0. The upstream README identifies the dictionary text as public domain and the project license as MIT.

Keyboard shortcuts

Search or jump to a reference
K
Previous / next chapter
Previous / next verse
kj
Favorite selected verse
f
Cycle selected verse highlight
h
Note on selected verse
n
Copy selected verse link
y
Open word study for selected verse
w
Open book picker
g
Switch translation
t
Toggle study panel
s
Desk Guide / Word / My
123
Close panels and menus
Esc
This sheet
?