whirl

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To rotate, revolve, spin or turn rapidly.
2. (intransitive) To have a sensation of spinning or reeling.
3. (transitive) To make something or someone whirl.
4. (transitive) To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch.

Noun

1. An act of whirling.
2. Something that whirls, such as a whirlwind.
3. A confused tumult.
4. A rapid series of events.
5. Dizziness or giddiness.
6. (informal) (usually following “give”) A brief experiment or trial.

Synonyms

spin

swirl

twirl

rotate

reel

revolve

turn

eddy

whirlpool

vortex

roll

twist

maelstrom

fling

gyrate

curl

twiddle

turn round

wheel

🛞

wave

👋

go round

brandish

twisting

tumble

turn around

birl

stagger

rotation

flourish

wield

wind

whirl around

wave about

beat

wag

swing

pirouette

go

arouse

commotion

swirling

troll

🧌

turn over

veer

run

agitate

stir

circle

⭕

incite

revolution

Translations

tourbillonner

girar

girar

girare

tournoyer

wirbeln

turbinare

tourbillon

strudeln

mexer

arremolinar-se

remolino

drehen

volteggiare

⭕

fer girar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wɜːl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: whirlen

Inherited from Old English: *hwyrflian

Cognate with Dutch: wervelen

Cognate with German: wirbeln

Cognate with Danish: hvirvle

Cognate with Swedish: virvla

Cognate with Albanian: vorbull

Inherited from Middle English: whirl

Inherited from Old English: hwirfel

Cognate with Danish: hvirvel

Cognate with Dutch: werveling

Cognate with German: Wirbel

In summary

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.