Eight Images of Petroglyphs
petroglyph (n.)
“carving on or in stone, a rock-carving,” usually a prehistoric one, 1854, from French pétroglyphe, from Greek petra “rock” (which is of unknown origin) + glyphē “carving” (from PIE root *gleubh- “to tear apart, cleave”). An earlier word was petrograph (1810). Related: Petroglyphic.
spiral (adj.)
“winding around a fixed point or center, arranged like the thread of a screw,” 1550s, from French spiral (16c.), from Medieval Latin spiralis “winding around a fixed center, coiling” (mid-13c.), from Latin spira “a coil, fold, twist, spiral,” from Greek speira “a winding, a coil (of a snake, etc.), a twist, a wreath, any coiled or wound object (a belt, a rope),” from PIE *sperieh-, from a base *sper- “to turn, twist, wind,” but Beekes seems doubtful. Related: Spirally. Spiral galaxy is attested by 1870; earlier it was a spiral nebula (1846) before their nature was grasped.
Entrance Stone, New Grange, Ireland
Mckee Springs, Utah
Photo: National Park Service
