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whorl
(hwôrl, hwʉrl)
noun
- a small flywheel on a spindle, as for regulating the speed of a spinning wheel
- anything with a coiled or spiral appearance; specif.,
- any of the circular ridges that form the design of a fingerprint
- Bot. a circular growth of leaves, petals, etc. about the same point on a stem
- Zool. any of the turns in a spiral shell
Origin: ME whorwyl, dial. var. of wherwille, whirl
Related Forms:
- whorled adjective
See whorl in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- A form that coils or spirals; a curl or swirl: spread the icing in peaks and whorls.
- Botany An arrangement of three or more leaves, petals, or other organs radiating from a single node.
- Zoology A single turn or volution of a spiral shell.
- One of the circular ridges or convolutions of a fingerprint.
- Architecture An ornamental device, as in stonework or weaving, consisting of stylized vine leaves and tendrils.
- A small flywheel that regulates the speed of a spinning wheel.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English whorle
Origin: , alteration of whirle, whirl
Origin: , from whirlen, to whirl; see whirl
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whorl
whorled leaves
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