tourbillon

[ toor-bil-yuhn; French toor-bee-yawn ]

noun
  1. Horology. a frame for the escapement of a timepiece, especially a watch, geared to the going train in such a way as to rotate the escapement about once a minute in order to minimize positional error.: Compare karrusel.

  2. a firework that rises spirally: Between two spectacular pinwheels, they launched a series of silvery tourbillons.

Origin of tourbillon

1
First recorded in 1470–80; earlier turbilloun, from Middle French to(u)rbillon, from unattested Vulgar Latin turbiliōnem, dissimilated variant of turbiniōnem, accusative of turbiniō “whirlwind”; see turbine, -ion
  • Sometimes tour·bil·lion [toor-bil-yuhn] /tʊərˈbɪl yən/ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024