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Added 9 October 2026

whirl

/wɜːl/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about whirl at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Confused movement.
he was caught up in a whirl of work
The shape of something rotating rapidly.
A usually brief attempt.
he took a crack at it

verb

Turn in a twisting or spinning motion.
The leaves swirled in the autumn wind
Cause to spin.
spin a coin
Flow in a circular current, of liquids.

Origin

From Middle English whirlen, contracted from earlier *whirvelen, *whervelen, possibly from Old English *hwyrflian, *hweorflian (attested in hwirflung, hwerflung (“change, vicissitude”)), frequentative form of Old English hweorfan (“to turn”), itself from Proto-West Germanic *hwerban, from Proto-Germanic *hwerbaną (“to turn”); or perhaps from Old Norse hvirfla (“to go round, spin”). Cognate with Dutch wervelen (“to whirl, swirl”), German wirbeln (“to whirl, swirl”), Danish hvirvle (“to whirl”), Swedish virvla (older spelling hvirfla), Albanian vorbull (“a whirl”). Related to whirr and wharve.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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