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gyre

 - 3 dictionary results

gyre

  [jahyuhr]
Use gyre in a Sentence
–noun
1. a ring or circle.
2. a circular course or motion.
3. Oceanography. a ringlike system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Origin:
1560–70; < L gȳrus < Gk gŷros ring, circle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gyre
gyre   (jīr)   
n.  

  1. A circular or spiral form; a vortex: "rain swirling the night into tunnels and gyres" (Anthony Hyde).

  2. A circular or spiral motion, especially a circular ocean current.

intr.v.   gyred, gyr·ing, gyres
To whirl.

[Latin gȳrus, from Greek gūros.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gyre 
1566, "a circular motion;" as a verb, "to turn round," c.1420; from L. gyrus "circle," from Gk. gyros "circle, ring," related to gyros "rounded," from PIE base *geu- "to bend, curve."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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