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whorl

whorl


whorl    Audio Help   (hwôrl, wôrl, hwûrl, wûrl)   

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.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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