Adjacent Words

Whorl definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WHORL, WHORLE. [See Whirl.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals) [syn: coil, whorl, roll, curl, curlicue, ringlet, gyre, scroll]
2: a strand or cluster of hair [syn: lock, curl, ringlet, whorl]
3: a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; "a coil of rope" [syn: coil, spiral, volute, whorl, helix]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English wharle, whorle, probably alteration of whirle, from whirlen to whirl Date: 15th century 1. a drum-shaped section on the lower part of a spindle in spinning or weaving machinery serving as a pulley for the tape drive that rotates the spindle 2. an arrangement of similar anatomical parts (as leaves) in a circle around a point on an axis 3. something that whirls, coils, or spirals or whose form suggests such movement ; swirl <whorls of snow> 4. one of the turns of a univalve shell 5. a fingerprint in which the central papillary ridges turn through at least one complete circle

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a ring of leaves or other organs round a stem of a plant. 2 one turn of a spiral, esp. on a shell. 3 a complete circle in a fingerprint. 4 archaic a small wheel on a spindle steadying its motion. Derivatives: whorled adj. Etymology: ME wharwyl, whorwil, app. var. of WHIRL: infl. by wharve (n.) = whorl of a spindle

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Whorl Whorl, n. [OE. whorvil the whirl of a spindle; akin to AS. hweorfa the whirl of a spindle, hweorfan to turn; cf. OD. worvel the whirl of a spindle. See Whirl, n. & v.] 1. (Bot.) A circle of two or more leaves, flowers, or other organs, about the same part or joint of a stem. 2. (Zo["o]l.) A volution, or turn, of the spire of a univalve shell. 3. (Spinning) The fly of a spindle.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(whorls) A whorl is a spiral shape, for example the pattern on the tips of your fingers. (LITERARY) He stared at the whorls and lines of her fingertips. ...dense whorls of red-purple flowers. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

cirrus, coil, contort, corkscrew, crinkle, curl, curlicue, eddy, evolute, gurge, gyre, helix, intort, involute, kink, meander, purl, ringlet, roll, scallop, screw, scroll, serpentine, slink, snake, spiral, swirl, tendril, turn, twine, twirl, twist, twist and turn, volute, volution, vortex, whirl, whirlpool, wind, worm, wring