whirlpool
UK /ˈwɜːlpuːl/ · US /ˈwɝlpul/ noun, verb
Forms whirlpools whirlpooling whirlpooled
- noun A swirling body of water. “A whirlpool is an instance of a vortex produced by ocean tides, or by a hole underneath where the water would drain out, such as in a bathtub.”
- noun A hot tub, a jacuzzi.
- noun (figurative) A state of turmoil or agitated excitement.
- verb (intransitive) To spin or swirl like the water in a whirlpool.
Synonyms
Etymology
From earlier whirlpoole, whirlpole, apparently from Middle English *whirlpole, potentially coalescing Old English hwierfel (“whirlpool”) and Old English hwierfepōl (“whirlpool”). Equivalent to whirl + pool. Cognate with Scots quhirlepole, whirle-pule (“whirlpool”). Compare also English whirlpit.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English gurges (“whirlpool”), borrowed from Latin gurges (“whirlpool”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An eddy or vortex of water; a place in a body of water where the water moves round in a circle so as to produce a depression or cavity in the center, into which floating objects may be drawn; any body of water having a more or less circular motion caused by its flowing in an irregular channel, by the coming together of opposing currents, or the like.
- noun A sea monster of the whale kind. [Obs.] Spenser.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whirlpool”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details