Cochleate

/ˈkɒkliət/ adjective

Definition

Spiral-shaped or coiled like a snail shell; having a cochlea-like form.

Etymology

From Latin cochlea (snail shell) with the adjective suffix -ate. Describes anything twisted or coiled in a specific spiral pattern.

Kelly Says

Cochleate describes more than just ears—botanists use it for spiral seed pods, zoologists for snail-like shells in fossils, and engineers for coiled springs, showing how one shape pattern appears everywhere in nature.

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