coil

See also: Coil

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /kɔɪl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪl

Etymology 1

From Middle English coilen, from Old French coillir, cuillir (“to gather, pluck, pick, cull”) (modern French cueillir), from Latin colligō (“to gather together”), past participle collectus, from com- (“together”) + legō (“to gather”); compare legend. Doublet of cull.

Helical or coil springs

Noun

coil (plural coils)

1. Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

   the sinuous coils of a snake

   • 1819 June 23 – 1820 September 13​, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “(please specify the title)”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], OCLC 1090970992:

     The wild grapevines that twisted their coils or tendrils from tree to tree.

2. Any intrauterine device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.
3. (electronics) A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.

   Synonym: inductor

4. (figuratively) Entanglement; perplexity.
   • a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Human Life”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, volume I, Second edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, page 687:

     What trifling coil do we mortals keep;
     Wake, eat, and drink, evacuate, and sleep.

Derived terms

• coil spring
• coil-sprung
• Flemish coil
• impedance coil
• mosquito coil
• Oudin coil
• Tesla coil

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: コイル (koiru)

Translations

something wound

• Arabic: مِلَفّ‎ m (milaff), وَشِيعَة‎ f (wašīʿa)
• Armenian: գալար (hy) (galar)
• Bulgarian: намо́тка f (namótka), нави́вка f (navívka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 螺線 (zh), 螺线 (zh) (luóxiàn), 螺旋 (zh) (luóxuán)

• Czech: spirála (cs)
• Danish: spiral c
• Dutch: spiraal (nl) c, veer (nl) f
• Estonian: keerd, spiraal
• Finnish: kierukka (fi), vyyhti (fi), kela (fi)
• French: spire (fr) f
• German: Spirale (de) f, Wickel (de) m, Rolle (de) f, Windung (de) f
• Greek: σπείρα (el) f (speíra), κουλούρα (el) f (kouloúra)

  Ancient: σπείραμα n (speírama)

• Icelandic: spírall m, verri m

• Italian: spirale (it) f
• Japanese: とぐろ (ja) (toguro), 渦状 (かじょう, kajō), 螺旋 (ja) (らせん, rasen)
• Latvian: ritulis (lv) m
• Maori: pōkai, pōkai
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: spiral m

  Nynorsk: spiral m

• Occitan: espira f
• Polish: zwój (pl)
• Portuguese: espiral (pt) f
• Russian: спира́ль (ru) f (spirálʹ), кольцо́ (ru) n (kolʹcó), вито́к (ru) m (vitók)
• Scottish Gaelic: lùb f
• Spanish: espiral (es) f, hélice (es) f
• Swedish: spiral (sv) c, rulle (sv) c
• Turkish: makara (tr)

intra-uterine contraceptive device — see intrauterine device

electrical

• Armenian: կոճ (hy) (koč)
• Bulgarian: боби́на (bg) f (bobína)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 線圈 (zh), 线圈 (zh) (xiànquān)

• Czech: cívka (cs) f
• Danish: spole c
• Dutch: spoel (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: pool (et), mähis
• Finnish: käämi (fi), kela (fi)
• French: bobine (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Spule (de) f
• Greek: πηνίο (el) n (pinío)
• Icelandic: spóla f

• Italian: bobina (it) f
• Japanese: コイル (ja) (koiru)
• Khmer: បូប៊ីន (boobiin)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: bobina (oc) f
• Polish: cewka (pl) f
• Portuguese: bobina (pt) f
• Russian: кату́шка (ru) f (katúška), боби́на (ru) f (bobína), шпу́лька (ru) f (špúlʹka)
• Slovene: tuljava (sl) f
• Spanish: bobina (es) f, bobinado (es) m
• Swedish: spole (sv) c
• Tagalog: kidkid
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: bobin (tr)
• Vietnamese: cuộn cảm

Verb

coil (third-person singular simple present coils, present participle coiling, simple past and past participle coiled)

1. To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.

   A simple transformer can be made by coiling two pieces of insulated copper wire around an iron heart.

2. To wind into loops (roughly) around a common center.

   The sailor coiled the free end of the hawser on the pier.

3. To wind cylindrically or spirally.

   to coil a rope when not in use

   The snake coiled itself before springing.

4. (obsolete, rare) To encircle and hold with, or as if with, coils.
   • a. 1757, Thomas Edwards, sonnet to Mr. Nathanael Mason

     Pleasure coil thee in her dangerous snare

Translations

wind into regular rings

• Armenian: գալարել (hy) (galarel)
• Bulgarian: навивам (bg) (navivam), намотавам (bg) (namotavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 缠 (zh) (chán)

• Danish: sno, rulle sammen
• Dutch: oprollen (nl), opwinden (nl)
• Finnish: kiertää (fi), keriä (fi), käämiä (fi)
• French: enrouler (fr), embobiner (fr)

• Galician: enrolar (gl)
• Greek: περιελίσσω (el) (perielísso), περισπειρώ (perispeiró), κουλουριάζω (el) (koulouriázo)
• Maori: pōkai, niko, pōkuru
• Occitan: enrotlar
• Portuguese: enrolar (pt)
• Russian: свёртывать (ru) n (svjórtyvatʹ)
• Swedish: snurra (sv), sno (sv)

wind into loops

• Armenian: գալարել (hy) (galarel)
• Bulgarian: намотавам (bg) (namotavam)
• Dutch: oprollen (nl), opwinden (nl)
• Finnish: keriä (fi), vyyhtiä (fi)
• Galician: enrolar (gl), revirichar
• Greek: περιελίσσω (el) (perielísso), περισπειρώ (perispeiró)

• Maori: niko, pōkuru
• Portuguese: enrolar (pt)
• Russian: нама́тывать (ru) n (namátyvatʹ)
• Spanish: enrollar (es)
• Swedish: rulla ihop

to wind cylindrically or spirally

• Danish: vinde op
• Finnish: vyyhtiä (fi), keriä (fi), kiertää rullalle

• Galician: enrolar (gl), revirichar
• Swedish: rulla ihop, rulla ihop sig (reflexive)

Etymology 2

Origin unknown.

Noun

coil (plural coils)

1. (now obsolete except in phrases) A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.
   • a. 1738, Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux, and John Ozell (translators), François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel

     And when he saw that all the dogs were flocking about her, yarring at the retardment of their access to her, and every way keeping such a coil with her as they are wont to do about a proud or salt bitch, he forthwith departed […]

   • c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:

     If the windes rage, doth not the Sea wax mad, / Threatning the welkin with his big-swolne face? / And wilt thou haue a reason for this coile?

   • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 162:

     this great Savage desired also to see him. A great coyle there was to set him forward.

   • 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section IV”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], OCLC 752990886, pages 99–100:

     [T]hey continued ſo extremely fond of Gold, that if Peter ſent them abroad, though it were only upon a Complement; they would Roar, and Spit, and Belch, and Piſs, and Fart, and Snivle out Fire, and keep a perpetual Coyl, till you flung them a Bit of Gold; [...]

Derived terms

• mortal coil

Translations

noise

• Dutch: rumoer (nl) n
• Finnish: meteli (fi)

• Greek: θόρυβος (el) m (thóryvos)
• Russian: шум (ru) m (šum), суета́ (ru) f (sujetá), сумато́ха (ru) f (sumatóxa), хло́поты (ru) pl (xlópoty), беспоря́док (ru) m (besporjádok)

Further reading

• “coil” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “coil” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Clio, coli, loci

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Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɛlʲ]

Noun

coil m

1. vocative/genitive singular of col (“prohibition; sin, lust; violation; dislike; incest; relation, relationship”)

Noun

coil m

1. inflection of col (“col”):
   1. vocative/genitive singular
   2. nominative/dative plural

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
coil	choil	gcoil
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.