whirl

WHIRL, verb transitive hwurl. [G., to whirl to warble. Latin ] TO turn round rapidly; to turn with velocity. He whirls his sword around without delay. WHIRL, verb intransitive 1. To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity; as the whirling spindles of a cotton machine or wheels of a coach. The wooden engine flies and whirls about. 2. To move hastily. --But whirld away, to shun his hateful sight. WHIRL, noun [G.] 1. A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or circumvolution; quick gyration; as the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel; the whirl of time; the whirls of fancy. 2. Any thing that moves or is turned with velocity, particularly on an axis or pivot. 3. A hook used in twisting. 4. In botany, a species of inflorescence, consisting of many subsessile flowers surrounding the stem in a ring. It is also written whorl and wherl.