Spire, n. [OE. spire, spir, a blade of grass, a young shoot, AS. spīr; akin to G. spier a blade of grass, Dan. spire a sprout, sprig, Sw. spira a spar, Icel. spīra.] 1. A slender stalk or blade in vegetation; as, a spire grass or of wheat.
An oak cometh up a little spire. Chaucer.
2. A tapering body that shoots up or out to a point in a conical or pyramidal form. Specifically (Arch.), the roof of a tower when of a pyramidal form and high in proportion to its width; also, the pyramidal or aspiring termination of a tower which can not be said to have a roof, such as that of Strasburg cathedral; the tapering part of a steeple, or the steeple itself. “With glistering spires and pinnacles adorned.” Milton.
A spire of land that stand apart,
Cleft from the main. Tennyson.
Tall spire from which the sound of cheerful bells
Just undulates upon the listening ear. Cowper.
3. (Mining) A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the chargen in blasting.
4. The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit.
The spire and top of praises. Shak.