4 ms·
Greek helix (genitive helikos) + pteron "wing" (from PIE root pet- "to rush, to fly"). https://www.etymonline.com/word/helicopter https://www.etymonline.com/wo
by yesenadam 8y ago
Greek helix (genitive helikos) + pteron "wing" (from PIE root pet- "to rush, to fly").
https://www.etymonline.com/word/helicopter https://www.etymonline.com/word/helicopter
That page says 'helix : "a spiral thing", a word used of anything in a spiral shape (an armlet, a curl of hair, the tendril of a vine, a serpent's coil)' - though all these examples are helices, not spirals; I suspect the author(s) didn't know the difference.
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoWell you piqued my interest, what's the difference? I note that Wiktionary, and the Oxford Pocket Dictionary (which I believe is what Google use), consider them to be synonyms. For example this from the latter's definition of "spiral" - "winding in a continuous curve of constant diameter about a central axis, as though along a cylinder; helical. synonyms: coiled, helical, helix-shaped, corkscrew, curling, winding, twisting, whorled"
- yesenadam 8y agoA spiral is 2D, like the Archimedean spiral. A helix is 3D, like a spring, or DNA's double helix. Calling them Archimedean helix or DNA's double spiral would make no sense. Dictionaries aren't a great place to find the actual meaning of words. :-) ..mathematical terms, anyway.
- taejo 8y agoMathematics isn't a great place to find the actual meaning of words, either, if by actual meaning you mean the meaning understood by the general native-speaking population.
- pbhjpbhj 8y agoAs with the "dinosaur" definition; it's about domain. "Spiral staircase" isn't wrong, it's that within geometry words have a greater specificity.