Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

maelstrom

 - 4 dictionary results

mael⋅strom

  [meyl-struhm]
Use maelstrom in a Sentence
–noun
1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs: the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
3. (initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.
Origin:
1550–60 for def. 3; < early Dmaelstroom, now sp. maalstroom, repr. mal(en) to grind + stroom stream. See meal 2 , stream

Synonyms:
2. tumult, pandemonium, bedlam.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To maelstrom
mael·strom   (māl'strəm)   
n.  

  1. A violent or turbulent situation: caught in the maelstrom of war.

  2. A whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence.


[Obsolete Dutch : Dutch malen, to grind, whirl (from Middle Dutch; see melə- in Indo-European roots) + Dutch stroom, stream (from Middle Dutch; see sreu- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

maelstrom 
1682 (Hakluyt has Malestrand, c.1560), "whirlpool off the northwest coast of Norway," from Dan. malstrøm (1673), from Du. Maelstrom, lit. "grinding-stream," from malen "to grind" (see meal) + stroom "stream." Name given by Du. cartographers (e.g. Mercator, 1595). Perhaps originally from Færoic mal(u)streymur. Popularized as a synonym for "whirlpool" c.1841.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

Maelstrom

marine channel and strong tidal current of the Norwegian Sea, in the Lofoten islands, northern Norway. Flowing between the islands of Moskenesoya (north) and Mosken (south), it has a treacherous current. About 5 miles (8 km) wide, alternating in flow between the open sea on the west and Vest Fjord on the east, the current may reach a speed of 7 miles (11 km) per hour with the changing of the tides, but the sea becomes calm in the moments when the tide switches direction. Strong local winds make the passage additionally dangerous. The word maelstrom entered the English language via the fiction of the French novelist Jules Verne and the American short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe, who exaggerated the current of the channel into a great whirlpool; the word in English designates a large, fatal whirlpool, engulfing vessels and men, or a figurative application of the idea.

Learn more about Maelstrom with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see maelstrom on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way