Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
SPIRE
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English spīr; akin to Middle Dutch spier blade of grass Date: before 12th century a slender tapering blade or stalk (as of grass), the upper tapering part of something (as a tree or antler) ; pinnacle ,
3. a tapering roof or analogous pyramidal construction surmounting a tower, steeple ,
II. intransitive verb (spired; spiring)
Date: 14th century
to rise like a spire,
III. noun
Etymology: Latin spira coil, from Greek speira; perhaps akin to Greek sparton rope, esparto
Date: 1545
1. spiral , coil , the inner or upper part of a spiral gastropod shell consisting of all the whorls except the whorl in contact with the body,
IV. intransitive verb (spired; spiring)
Date: 1591
to rise in or as if in a spiral