spiral of Archimedes

noun phrase

spiral of Ar·​chi·​me·​des -ˌär-kə-ˈmē-dēz 

: a plane curve that is generated by a point moving away from or toward a fixed point at a constant rate while the radius vector from the fixed point rotates at a constant rate and that has the equation ρ = a θ in polar coordinates

Word History

Etymology

Archimedes

First Known Use

circa 1856, in the meaning defined above