spherical

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsfɛrɪkəl/ UK /ˈsfɛrɪkəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
shaped like or relating to a sphere

The artist shaped the clay into a perfectly spherical orb.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · shaped like or relating to... round globularspheroidalorbiculargloboseball-shaped

Opposites

flat planar angular

Word family

Forms spherically

Derived forms sphericallysphericity

Related forms spherespheroidhemisphere

Etymology

From Late Latin sphaericus, from Ancient Greek sphairikós, from sphaîra ('ball, globe'), + the English suffix -al.

sphaericus Late Latin sphaîra Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# spherical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsfɛrɪkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsfɛrɪkəl/

## Meanings
1. shaped like or relating to a sphere

## Examples
- The artist shaped the clay into a perfectly spherical orb.

## Synonyms
- round
- globular
- spheroidal
- orbicular
- globose
- ball-shaped

## Antonyms
- flat
- planar
- angular

## Derived Forms
- spherically
- sphericity

## Related Forms
- sphere
- spheroid
- hemisphere

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sphaericus
- Root: sphaîra

## Etymology
From Late Latin sphaericus, from Ancient Greek sphairikós, from sphaîra ('ball, globe'), + the English suffix -al.

## AI Etymology
Spherical comes from Late Latin sphaericus, from Ancient Greek sphairikós, from sphaîra ('ball, globe'), + the English suffix -al. The historical chain includes Late Latin sphaericus and Ancient Greek sphaîra. The quoted older sense, "ball, globe," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for spherical. The formation is best read as suffixal, compound, and borrowed: the word spherical carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "shaped like or relating to a sphere". English derivatives include spherically and sphericity; related English forms include sphere, spheroid, and hemisphere. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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