maelstrom

Signification (Anglais)

1. A large and violent whirlpool.
2. (figuratively) A chaotic or turbulent situation.

Concepts

tourbillon

maëlstrom

vortex

maelström

au milieu d’un tourbillon

Synonymes

whirlpool

vortex

whirl

eddy

whirlwind

chaos

turmoil

upheaval

tourbillon

convulsions

gyre

hurly-burly

swirl

Traductions

vorágine

maalstroom

Strudel

vortice

redemoinho

vórtice

Mahlstrom

remolino

turbilhão

torbellino

voragem

vórtice

Wirbelwind

Wirbel

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/ˈmeɪlˌstɹəm/

Étymologie (Anglais)

Appartenant à néerlandais: maalstroom

Appartenant à danois: malstrøm

Appartenant à allemand: Mahlstrom

Appartenant à suédois: malström

In summary

The word was originally the name of a giant whirlpool off Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, likely the actual tidal pool system of Moskstraumen in Lofoten.
It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841).
Cognates
* Danish malstrøm
* German Mahlstrom
* Swedish malström