Helix

How to spell helix

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce helix

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does helix mean?

1. nounA three-dimensional curve that winds around an axis, like a coiled spring or spiral staircase.

Helix in a sentence

• The biology lecture described how each strand of DNA forms a helix.

• The museum staircase coiled upward in a tight helix.

Where does helix come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word comes directly from the Greek helix, which named something twisted, coiled, or spiral, and was linked to the verb helissein, meaning 'to turn round' or 'to wind'. The Romans took the word over into Latin as helix, where it was used for spiral architectural ornaments, and English adopted it in the early 1600s along with much of the vocabulary of classical building and anatomy. Early English uses described the curling volute on the top of a column and the curved outer rim of the human ear, which anatomists still call the helix today. The plural can be the Latinate 'helices' as well as 'helixes', a reminder of its journey through Latin. The word became famous in the twentieth century through the 'double helix' of DNA, but its spelling has stayed faithful to the Greek root, which is why it ends in the slightly unusual -ix rather than a more English-looking ending.

How the word is built

• helix (from Greek helix: a spiral or twist)
• -x (Greek noun ending carried into Latin and English)