spire

C2 Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/ UK /spaɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #38505

Meanings

1

noun
A tall, pointed structure on top of a tower or church roof.

The cathedral's spire rose high above the town.
2

noun
A sharp, narrowing point at the top of something.

The dark spires of the fir trees stood against the evening sky.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a tall, pointed structure... steeple

Word family

Forms spiresspiring

Derived forms acrospirespirelessspireletspirelikespirewardspirewisespiry

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.

*spey- Proto-Indo-European spire Middle English spīr Old English *spīrō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

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# spire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /spaɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 38505

## Meanings
1. A tall, pointed structure on top of a tower or church roof.
2. A sharp, narrowing point at the top of something.

## Examples
- The cathedral's spire rose high above the town.
- The dark spires of the fir trees stood against the evening sky.

## Derived Forms
- acrospire
- spireless
- spirelet
- spirelike
- spireward
- spirewise
- spiry

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *spey-
- Root: spire
- Root: spīr
- Root: *spīrō

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Spire is 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. Important recorded forms include *spey- (Proto-Indo-European), spire (Middle English), spīr (Old English), and *spīrō (Proto-Germanic). Current senses include a tall, pointed structure on top of a tower or church roof and a sharp, narrowing point at the top of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as acrospire, spireless, spirelet, spirelike, and spireward.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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spire

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