Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

volute

/vəˈluːt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.79 in modern English

Syllables: vo-lute
IPA: /vəˈluːt/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The characteristic spiral curve on an Ionic capital, widely copied in other styles and in neoclassical architecture.

noun

The spirals or whorls on a gastropod's shell.

noun

Any marine gastropod of the family Volutidae.

noun

The casing in a centrifugal pump, whose shape is somewhat similar to architectural volutes.

noun

A spiral or scroll form.

noun

A scroll-shaped carving at the tuning head of a stringed musical instrument, similar to architectural volutes.

adj

Of a spring: having a spiral curve on its tail.

adj

Rolled up in any way.

Example Sentences

"This example is much richer, yet no less elegant, than the other; the volute, instead of a single spiral, is formed by three; the sculptured echinus beneath is surmounted by a guilloched moulding, and separated from the shaft by a neck […]"
"Common shells include frog-shells, distorsios, volutes, tulips, murex, cones, olives, marginellas, cowries, augers and the Florida horse conch, the state's official shell, which can grow up to 24in (6 1 cm) long."

Etymology

From French volute, from Italian voluta, from Latin volūta, from the feminine of volūtus, perfect passive participle of volvō. Doublet of vault.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: volute, voluta, volūta

Inflected Forms

volutes (plural)

Derived Forms

voluted volutite volutoid

Phrases

elephant's snout volute music volute

Synonyms

coiling helical spiral spiraling voluted whorled turbinate spiralling

Rhymes With

minute shoot suit route cute fruit root dispute boot suite substitute pursuit

Questions

How do you pronounce volute?: The recorded pronunciation is /vəˈluːt/.
What does volute mean?: The characteristic spiral curve on an Ionic capital, widely copied in other styles and in neoclassical architecture.
Where does volute come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce volute

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “volute”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/vəˈluːt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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