coil
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle French coillir (“to gather, pluck, pick, cull”) (French: cueillir), from Latin colligo (“to gather together”), past participle collectus, from com- (“together”) + lego (“to gather”); compare legend.
Noun[edit]
coil (plural coils)
- Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
- the sinuous coils of a snake
- Washington Irving
- The wild grapevines that twisted their coils from tree to tree.
- Any intra-uterine contraceptive device (Abbreviation: IUD)—the first IUDs were coil-shaped.
- (electrical) A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.
- (figuratively) Entanglement; perplexity.
Synonyms[edit]
- (coil of conductive wire): inductor
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
something wound
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intra-uterine contraceptive device
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electrical
Verb[edit]
coil (third-person singular simple present coils, present participle coiling, simple past and past participle coiled)
- 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.
- To wind into loops (roughly) around a common center.
- The sailor coiled the free end of the hawser on the pier.
- To wind cylindrically or spirally.
- to coil a rope when not in use
- The snake coiled itself before springing.
- (obsolete, rare) To encircle and hold with, or as if with, coils.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of T. Edwards to this entry?)
Translations[edit]
wind into regular rings
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wind into loops
Etymology 2[edit]
Origin unknown.
Noun[edit]
coil (plural coils)
- (now obsolete except in phrases) A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, Act III:
- 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, A Tale of a Tub:
- they continued so extremely fond of gold, that if Peter sent them abroad, though it were only upon a compliment, they would roar, and spit, and belch, and piss, and f—t, and snivel out fire, and keep a perpetual coil, till you flung them a bit of gold [...].
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, Act III:
Quotations[edit]
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
noise
External links[edit]
- coil in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- coil in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anagrams[edit]
Irish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
coil m
- genitive singular of col
Mutation[edit]
| 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. |
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