helix
noun
[ ˈhiːlɪks ]
• an object having a three-dimensional shape like that of a wire wound uniformly in a single layer around a cylinder or cone, as in a corkscrew or spiral staircase.
Similar:
spiral,
coil,
curl,
corkscrew,
twist,
twirl,
loop,
gyre,
whorl,
scroll,
curlicue,
convolution,
volute,
volution,
• the rim of the external ear.
Origin:
mid 16th century (in the architectural sense ‘spiral ornament’): via Latin from Greek.
