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Slightly offtopic: Can "spiralling" be a transitive verb too? Original article title: > Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Mi

Slightly offtopic: Can "spiralling" be a transitive verb too? Original article title: > Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole HN title: > Astronomers unveil strong magnetic fields spiraling Milky Way's black hole

schwartzworld 3y ago
You can spiral a football.
- tmhn2 3y ago
  In that usage the object (football) ends up in the state of spiralling. So the HN title would, strictly speaking, mean that the magnetic fields are causing the black hole to spiral, which isn't right. It's probably sort of being mixed up with the transitive verb "to circle", which goes the other way, with the subject ending up in a state of circling.
- albert_e 3y ago
  Is that so? I was unfamiliar with football terminology so had to google it. Most references talk about "throwing a spiral" (noun), rather than "spiralling a football" (verb, transitive). But I can imagine this being a common usage. I have heard similar terms in other sports where you "verb" the ball, instead of throwing or bowling a "noun" :) So I presume when a player "spirals a football" it means the player imparts a spin to the ball. (As opposed to player moving his/her own body around the ball in a spiral path :) ) Whereas the HN title uses it in a slightly different (second) sense -- "magnetic fields spiraling Milky Way's black hole" meaning something like "magnetic fields moving around / orbiting the Milky Way's black hole" Semantics. literally.
  - jmholla 3y ago
    There's also the idea of things spiraling down a drain. In there, no action is imparted on the drain by the things. The object of the sentence refers to the location it is taking place.
    - albert_e 3y ago
      Yes when used as an intransitive verb a lot of other meanings are possible I guess: Spiralling at the edge of black hole. Spiralling out of control. Spiralling incessantly. Transitive verb usage would be more restricted in what it can refer to.
vikramkr 3y ago
If you use it as a transitive word and people understand what you meant then yes it can be a transitive verb - that's the only criteria. In this case I think most people would understand what you mean so yes.

schwartzworld 3y ago

You can spiral a football.

tmhn2 3y ago
In that usage the object (football) ends up in the state of spiralling. So the HN title would, strictly speaking, mean that the magnetic fields are causing the black hole to spiral, which isn't right. It's probably sort of being mixed up with the transitive verb "to circle", which goes the other way, with the subject ending up in a state of circling.
albert_e 3y ago
Is that so? I was unfamiliar with football terminology so had to google it. Most references talk about "throwing a spiral" (noun), rather than "spiralling a football" (verb, transitive). But I can imagine this being a common usage. I have heard similar terms in other sports where you "verb" the ball, instead of throwing or bowling a "noun" :) So I presume when a player "spirals a football" it means the player imparts a spin to the ball. (As opposed to player moving his/her own body around the ball in a spiral path :) ) Whereas the HN title uses it in a slightly different (second) sense -- "magnetic fields spiraling Milky Way's black hole" meaning something like "magnetic fields moving around / orbiting the Milky Way's black hole" Semantics. literally.
- jmholla 3y ago
  There's also the idea of things spiraling down a drain. In there, no action is imparted on the drain by the things. The object of the sentence refers to the location it is taking place.
  - albert_e 3y ago
    Yes when used as an intransitive verb a lot of other meanings are possible I guess: Spiralling at the edge of black hole. Spiralling out of control. Spiralling incessantly. Transitive verb usage would be more restricted in what it can refer to.

vikramkr 3y ago

If you use it as a transitive word and people understand what you meant then yes it can be a transitive verb - that's the only criteria. In this case I think most people would understand what you mean so yes.