The vaults are almost entirely rebuilt and cleaned, a new gilded copper rooster is perched atop the finished tip of the spire, and the wooden attic is redone.—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024 The top of the tall spire of nearby Grace Cathedral can be seen from the penthouse, as well.—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 27 Mar. 2024 On Saturday morning, a crane carefully placed a new golden rooster atop the spire of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral.—Antonia Mufarech, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023 And when Olympic visitors descend on Paris in their millions for the Summer Games opening July 26, the rebuilt spire and roof should be complete, giving the cathedral a finished look from outside.—John Leicester, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Dec. 2023 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
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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