helix (pl. helices).
1. Small volute or urilla under the abacus of the Corinthian capital, of which there are 16 (2 at each angle, and 2 on each face) connected to the stalks. According to some authorities the 8 inner spiral forms are the helices, while those at the angles are volutes.

2. Any volute, as on an Ionic or Composite capital, a console, or a modillion.

3. Handrail of a stair balustrade forming a helix over the newel.

he·lix / ˈhēliks/ • n. (pl. -li·ces / -ləˌsēz/ ) an object having a three-dimensional shape like that of a wire wound uniformly in a single layer around a cylinder or cone, as in a corkscrew or spiral staircase. ∎  Geom. a curve on a conical or cylindrical surface that would become a straight line if the surface were unrolled into a plane. ∎  Biochem. an extended spiral chain of atoms in a protein, nucleic acid, or other polymeric molecule. ∎  Archit. a spiral ornament. ∎  Anat. the rim of the external ear.

helix

helix XVI. — L. helix, helic- — Gr. hélix, -ik-, f. IE. *wel- roll.
Hence helical XVII. helicoid XVIII. — modL. — Gr.

helix (hee-liks) n. the outer curved fleshy ridge of the pinna of the outer ear.

helix Curve generated when a point moves over the surface of a cylinder so that it traces a path inclined at a constant angle to the cylinder's axis, as in a coil spring.