Spira, R. (σπεῖρα). Anything spiral or coiled; such as (1) a coil of rope; (2) an ornament worn by women on the head; (3) the string by which the cap of the Salian priests was fastened under the chin; (4) the base of a column.
Spire, Arch. An acutely-pointed termination crowning a steeple. (See Chamfer.)
Spirit Fresco. A new method of painting in fresco, introduced by Mr. Gambier Parry, 1880.
Spirits of Wine are used to dissolve resins in the preparation of varnishes.
Spirula. Diminutive of spira.
Spittle or Spittlehouse, O. E. A hospital.
Spolarium, R. (spolio, to strip off). A cloakroom in the baths, where the bathers left their clothes; in an amphitheatre or circus the term was applied to a cella in which gladiators who had been killed in the arena were stripped of their clothes and weapons.
Spolia, R. Booty taken in war. Præda means plunder generally; Manubium, the share of the commander or the state; Exuviæ, the personal spoils of an enemy; and Spolia, properly speaking, arms or implements of war. (See Opima Spolia.)
Fig. 623. Carved ivory Spoon with figure of “January.”