spire1

[spahyuh r] /spaɪər/
noun
1.
a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc.
2.
a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple.
3.
a tapering, pointed part of something; a tall, sharp-pointed summit, peak, or the like:
the distant spires of the mountains.
4.
the highest point or summit of something:
the spire of a hill; the spire of one's profession.
5.
a sprout or shoot of a plant, as an acrospire of grain or a blade or spear of grass.
verb (used without object), spired, spiring.
6.
to shoot or rise into spirelike form; rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English spīr spike, blade; cognate with Middle Dutch spier, Middle Low German spīr shoot, sprout, sprig, Old Norse spīra stalk
Related forms
spireless, adjective
unspiring, adjective

spire2

[spahyuh r] /spaɪər/
noun
1.
a coil or spiral.
2.
one of the series of convolutions of a coil or spiral.
3.
Zoology. the upper, convoluted part of a spiral shell, above the aperture.
Origin
1565-75; < Latin spīra < Greek speîra; see spiral
Related forms
spireless, adjective
Examples from the web for spire
  • The showy lantern tower of the tallest spire glowed with a nighttime torch when the king was in.
  • There are far easier ways of attaching a decorative spire to the top of a building.
  • The church has no spire and little architectural drama.
  • The murals of the marble and granite lobby were restored, and the stainless steel eagles and spire regained their glint.
  • At the foot of the architectural cross rises a graceful spire sixty feet high, surmounted by a double cross.
  • The final ecstatic leap of the spire is no afterthought but is implicit almost from the sidewalk.
  • The paper has a photo that shows the cathedral standing, surrounded by rubble, its spire toppled.
  • Shortly afterward, the red star that the communists had placed on the spire of the building was removed.
  • The familiar silver spire can be seen from all over the city.
  • spire is also using the reactor for two development projects funded by other companies.
British Dictionary definitions for spire

spire1

/spaɪə/
noun
1.
Also called steeple. a tall structure that tapers upwards to a point, esp one on a tower or roof or one that forms the upper part of a steeple
2.
a slender tapering shoot or stem, such as a blade of grass
3.
the apical part of any tapering formation; summit
verb
4.
(intransitive) to assume the shape of a spire; point up
5.
(transitive) to furnish with a spire or spires
Derived Forms
spiry, adjective
Word Origin
Old English spīr blade; related to Old Norse spīra stalk, Middle Low German spīr shoot, Latin spīna thorn

spire2

/spaɪə/
noun
1.
any of the coils or turns in a spiral structure
2.
the apical part of a spiral shell
Derived Forms
spiriferous (spaɪəˈrɪfərəs) adjective
Word Origin
C16: from Latin spīra a coil, from Greek speira
Word Origin and History for spire
n.

Old English spir "sprout, shoot, stalk of grass," from Proto-Germanic *spiraz (cf. Old Norse spira "a stalk, slender tree," Middle Low German spir "a small point or top"), from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)). Meaning "tapering top of a tower or steeple" first recorded 1590s (a sense attested in Middle Low German since late 14c. and also found in the Scandinavian cognates). The verb is first recorded early 14c.