Where does “spirally” come from?
Spirally derives from English spiral plus the Old English adverbial suffix -līċ, itself from Latin spira meaning coil, from Ancient Greek σπείρα with the same sense.
spirally (English): In a spiral fashion
Definitions
- In a spiral fashion
Ancestry of “spirally”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | spiral | A curve that is the locus of a point that rotates... |
| 2 | Middle French | spirale | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | spiralis | spiraling |
| 4 | Latin | spira | A thing that is coiled, twisted, or wound; A... |
| 5 | French | trompe | trumpet; trunk of an elephant; squinch |
| 6 | Middle French | trompe | — |
| 7 | Old French | trompe | trump, trumpet; horn, trump, trumpet |
| 8 | Frankish | trumpa | trump, trumpet; trumpet |