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whorl

 - 5 dictionary results

whorl

  [hwurl, hwawrl, wurl, wawrl]
Use whorl in a Sentence
–noun
1. a circular arrangement of like parts, as leaves or flowers, around a point on an axis; verticil.
2. one of the turns or volutions of a spiral shell.
3. anything shaped like a coil.
4. one of the central ridges of a fingerprint, forming at least one complete circle.
5. Textiles. a flywheel or pulley, as for a spindle.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME whorle, whorvil, wharwyl, OE hwyrfel, equiv. to hweorfa whorl of a spindle + -el n. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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whorl   (hwôrl, wôrl, hwûrl, wûrl)   


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n.  

  1. A form that coils or spirals; a curl or swirl: spread the icing in peaks and whorls.

  2. Botany An arrangement of three or more leaves, petals, or other organs radiating from a single node.

  3. Zoology A single turn or volution of a spiral shell.

  4. One of the circular ridges or convolutions of a fingerprint.

  5. Architecture An ornamental device, as in stonework or weaving, consisting of stylized vine leaves and tendrils.

  6. A small flywheel that regulates the speed of a spinning wheel.


[Middle English whorle, alteration of whirle, whirl, from whirlen, to whirl; see whirl.]
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

whorl 
c.1460, "flywheel or pulley on a spindle," perhaps an alteration of whirl. Meaning "circle of leaves or flowers round a stem of a plant" is first recorded 1551. Of seashells or other spiral structures, from 1828.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: whorl
Pronunciation: 'hwor(-&)l, 'wor(-&)l, '(h)w&r(-&)l
Function: noun
: a fingerprint in which the central papillary ridges turnthrough at least one complete turn
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

whorl (wôrl, wûrl)
n.

  1. A form that coils or spirals; a curl or swirl.

  2. A turn of the cochlea or of the ethmoidal crest.

  3. An area of hair growing in a radial manner.

  4. One of the circular ridges or convolutions of a fingerprint.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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