Parisians gathered at the Pont de la Tournelle near Notre Dame Cathedral to sing hymns, after a huge fire destroyed much of the structure’s roof and spire.—William McGurn, WSJ, 11 Dec. 2023 Twitter More From The Post Notre Dame’s new spire unveiled after 2019 fire, complete with golden rooster
Feb. 14, 2024
Thursday briefing: Kansas City shooting; national security threat; Trump in court; SpaceX moon launch; Notre Dame; and more
Today at 10:00 a.m.—Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024 The new spire is the latest milestone in the restoration of the cathedral's former glory.—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2024 Another rooster stood atop the spire previously; the bird is considered an emblem of France.—Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024 The spire burned and crashed down, punching giant, jagged holes into the vaults and sending gobs of molten metal and charred beams plummeting below.—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2023 Notre Dame’s spire has seen several chapters in its roughly 800-year history.—Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024 At the clay cliffs, eroded spires rise from the landscape.—Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 The six spires of the Salt Lake Temple give it an attenuated look.—Brian T. Allen, National Review, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English, from Old English spīr; akin to Middle Dutch spier blade of grass
Noun (2)
Latin spira coil, from Greek speira; perhaps akin to Greek sparton rope, esparto
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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