| 释义 |
▪ I. whirl, n.|hwɜːl|
Forms: 5 qwherel, qwerle, wherwille, Sc. quhirl(l, 6 whiruel(l, wherle, whyrle, whirroll, 6–7 whurle, 6–8 whirle, 7 wervell, whurl, 6– whirl.
[Partly a. MLG., MDu. wervel or ON. hvirfill (see whirl v.), partly f. the verb itself. Cf. whorl.]
I. Denoting a material object.
1. a. The fly-wheel or pulley of a spindle: = whorl n. 1.
1411Nottingham Rec. II. 86, x. qwerles. 1479Paston Lett. III. 270, vj. soketes, with branches to remeve. iij. wherwilles to the same. 1483Cath. Angl. 298/2 A Qwherel of A spyndylle [A. A Qworle of A roke], giraculum, neopellum, vertibrum. 1510Stanbridge Vocabula (W. de W.) C j b, Verticillum, a wherle [1525, a whorle]. a1553Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 20 Nourse medle you with your spyndle and your whirle. 1556Withals Dict. (1562) 35/1 A whiruell, verticulum, verticulus, spondilus. 1585W. Whitaker Answ. to Rainolds 160 Among the other praises of a woorthy..woman that is one, that she putteth hir hande to the wherle. 1598Florio, Aspo,..a whirroll. 1659Torriano, Cócca, the wervell or button of a spindle. 1825J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 389 The revolution of the wheel,..conveyed by a band to the whirl, or pulley on the spindle.
†b. transf. A skein of thread sufficient to fill a spindle. Obs.
1560W. Baldwin Funeralles Edw. VI, Death playnt iii, Atropos did knap in two the string, Before her sisters sixtene whurles had spun.
c. Rope-making. A cylindrical piece of wood furnished with a hook on which the ends of the fibre are hung in spinning.
1794Rigging & Seamanship I. 58 Whirls are of beech or ash,..cylindrically formed, and fixed on iron spindles in the heads of wheels, with a hook at one end for the spinner to hang his hemp on. They are likewise used to hang the yarn on for hardening and laying ropes. 1797[see whirl-hook s.v. whirl-]. 1886Encycl. Brit. XX. 844/1 The point of the prolonged axis of the whirl is bent into a hook.
†2. = whirl-worm 1. Obs.
1658Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1042 A Whirl or little hairy Worm with many feet. Ibid., I collect that there is a house Whurl like to Silphius.
3. Bot. and Zool. = whorl n. 2.
1713Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 194 The upper Whirls are guarded with round pointed Leaves. 1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 189 Whirls of leaves often so thickly set as partly to tile the stems. 1883Harper's Mag. Jan. 187/2 The numberless animals of the colony are grouped in whirls.
4. Conch.
a. = whorl n. 3.
1681Grew Musæum i. vi. i. 125 A Shell..with a Knobed Turban or Whirle. 1851Woodward Mollusca 45 The whirls of spiral shells are sometimes separated by the interference of foreign substances. 1861P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1860, 186 In Triforis, the whirls turn the wrong way.
b. = top n.2 2.
1708Phil. Trans. XXVI. 79 Trochites, The Whirle, or Top-shell.
5. A convolution, curl, spiral; = whorl n. 4.
1862Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 399 The noses, the tails, the feet of the characteristic monster of the sculptured stones, all end in a whirl. 1884Jrnl. Frankl. Inst. June 418 The reduction of friction and of whirls in the wheel.
6. Angling. A spinning bait.
1888Goode Amer. Fishes 71 Using two lines with spoon-baits or ‘whirl’.
7. Electr. (See quots.)
1842Francis Dict. Arts, Whirl, Electrical. (See Flyer.) 1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 5598, Series of apparatus..including Leyden jars..swan, spider, whirl or fly. 1893Sloane Electr. Dict. 577 A conductor carrying an electric current is surrounded by circular lines of force, which are sometimes termed an electric whirl.
II. Denoting a movement (and derived senses).
8. a. The action, or an act, of whirling; (swift) rotatory or circling movement, rotation, circumvolution, gyration; a (rapid) turn, as of a wheel, around an axis or centre.
spec. in Fencing: cf. quot. 1771 s.v. whirl v. 3. In Kinematics, a uniform rotation of a fluid about a fixed axis.
c1480Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 370 Wardly men sum tyme ar castin hie Apon the quhele, in grete prosperitee, And wyth a quhirl, vnwarly, or thai witte, Ar thravin doun to pure & law estate. 1598Marston Sco. Villanie iii. x. H 3, The whirle on toe, The turne aboue ground. 1609Bible (Douay) 1 Sam. xxv. 29 In violence, and whurle of a sling. 1621Fletcher Pilgrim iii. vi, What flaws, and whirles of weather. 1742Young Nt. Th. iv. 562 The good man..bids earth roll, nor feels her idle whirl. 1771Lonnergan Fencer's Guide 87 This [wrenching] differs from whirling; because you limit it not as you do the whirl, to get a good Repost. 1829C. Rose Four Yrs. S. Africa 146 A wild kind of dance, the principal motion of which was a whirl. 1856Kane Arctic Expl. I. xvi. 186 The howling of the wind and the whirl of the snow-drift. 1878W. K. Clifford Kinematic 214 Whirls. Suppose next that the lines of flow are circles having their centres on a fixed axis, and their planes perpendicular to it, and that there is no spin except at the axis, and no expansion anywhere. 1894Phil. Trans. CLXXXV. i. 281 In an unloaded shaft, the period of whirl coincides with the natural period of lateral vibration. 1908S. E. White Riverman xxvi, A whirl of the wheel to the right, a turn to the left.
b. Something, as a body of water or air, in (rapid) circling motion, or the part at which this takes place; an eddy, a vortex.
a1547Surrey æneis ii. 531 As wrastling windes out of dispersed whirl [orig. rupto turbine] Befight themselues. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 118/1 These whirls and eddies in a River..have..the nature and force of a Screw. 1753Franklin Lett. Wks. 1840 VI. 155 Still the tube or whirl of air may remain entire. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. vii. x, Upon the whirl, where sank the ship, The boat spun round and round. 1847Stoddart Angler's Comp. 146 Trout..are found..close below banks, among side-runs and small whirls. 1902Words of Eye-witness 101 A whirl of rifle-bullets beat upon the wet ground.
9. In extended use: Swift or violent movement, as of something hurled or flung, or of a wheeled vehicle, etc.; rapid course; rush, hurry. Also fig.
1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II. cix, The Noble Vere springs at a double whirle, Marquesse and Duke. 1725Pope Odyss. x. 52 Snatch'd in the whirl, the hurried navy flew. 1842Dickens Amer. Notes vi, The lively whirl of carriages is exchanged for the deep rumble of carts and waggons. 1882T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam 97 Such a wretched device for filling their holidays as a whirl from one place to another, and a whirl back.
10. fig. Confused and hurried activity of any kind; disturbance, commotion; tumult, bustle.
1552Huloet, Whyrle or rage of a battayle. 1620I. C. Two Merry Milk-maids i. iii. C 4 b, What whirle's this? 1780H. Cowley Belle's Stratagem ii. i, The feelings of Wife, and Mother, are lost in the whirl of dissipation. 1827Keble Chr. Y., Whit-Sunday x, A giddy whirl of sin Fills ear and brain. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxxix, Tomorrow was to be a half-holiday devoted to a whirl of entertainment. 1889‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob vi, Those who live in the whirl of London Society.
b. A confused, disturbed, distracted, or dizzy state of mind or feeling.
1707Addison Rosamond iii. iii, My soul is..in the whirle of passion lost. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair iv, In a whirl of wonder at the theatre. 1854R. S. Surtees Handley Cr. lxv, His head was in a complete whirl. 1905H. G. Wells Kipps iii. iii. §6 He departed in a whirl, to secure a copy of every morning paper.
11. colloq. (orig. U.S.). An attempt, esp. an initial or tentative attempt. Freq. in phr. give it (and varr.) a whirl. Cf. burl n.2 2.
1884C. B. Lewis Sawed-Off Sk. 277 After licking the best man in his own camp he came down to give us a whirl. 1889‘Mark Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xix. 234 No sound and legitimate business can be established on a basis of speculation. A successful whirl in the knight-errantry line... It's just a corner in pork, that's all, and you can't make anything else out of it. 1904‘O. Henry’ Sixes & Sevens (1911) 75 I'd been saving up for a year to give this New York a whirl. 1922S. Lewis Babbitt vi. 90 But—I wish I could've had a whirl at law and politics. 1923Wodehouse in Strand Mag. Apr. 335 Jeeves, if he cared to take a whirl at it, could be Prime Minister or something to-morrow. 1949A. Miller Death of Salesman i. 66 Come on up. Tell that to Dad. Let's give him a whirl. 1965K. Roberts in J. Carnell New Writings in S-F III. 127 I'm going up again next weekend. Give it another whirl. 1979S. Wilson Greenish Man 11 You've nothing to lose. Give it a whirl, try it for a month. 1985Times 28 Feb. 20/2 John Syer came to me and said he could help... So I thought I would give it a whirl.
▪ II. whirl, v.|hwɜːl|
Forms: 3 ȝwirle, 4 wyrle, 4–6 whyrle, 4–7 whirle, 5 quirle, 6 whyrl, Sc. quherle, quhirl(l)e, vhirle, 6–7 whorle, whurl(e, 6– whirl.
[prob. a. ON. hvirfla to turn about, whirl (Sw. virfla, obs. Da. hvirle, Da. hvirvle), related to ON. hvirfill circle, ring, esp. crown of the head, top, summit, pole of the heavens (MSw. hvirvil crown of the head, Sw. virvel, obs. Da. hvirrel, Da. hvirvel eddy, etc.) = (M)Du., (M)LG. wervel † whirlpool, † spindle, vertebra, swivel, bolt, OHG. wirbil, wirvil whirlwind (MHG., G. wirbel whirlwind, whirlpool, giddiness, vertebra, swivel, sheave, tumult; cf. wirbeln to whirl, trill, wirblig rotatory, giddy):—OTeut. *χwerƀil-, f. χwerƀ- to rotate: see wharve v., -el1, -le 1, 3.
ON. hwearflian, hwearftlian ‘errare’ (Northumb. hwærflung ‘error’, ‘vicissitudo’) and *hwierflian, hwyrftlian to rotate, do not appear to have survived; they are app. based on the variant χwarƀ-, which is otherwise widely represented (cf. late Northumb. huarf ‘error’, OE. *hwierfel, wirfel in place names, OHG. werbil ‘sistrum, plectrum’, warbelôn ‘rotari, versari’, warblich ‘versatilis’, and forms s.v. wharve v.).
Contamination with hurl is seen in sense 6, as also in the variants hurlpool, hurlwind of whirlpool, whirlwind. Cf. similarly thirlpool (association with thirl, thrill).]
1. intr. To move in a circle or similar curve, to circle, circulate; more vaguely, to move about in various directions, esp. with rapidity or force; to go (wander, fly, etc.) about; to be in commotion.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. 211/387 Þe kniȝt ȝwirlede op in þis blast, ase speldene doth, wel wide. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 1873 As þe blase whirleth of a fire, So to and fro þei fleen. c1440Promp. Parv. 525/1 Whyrlyn a-bowte, yn ydylnesse..vagor. a1475Ashby Dicta Philos. 259 This world is not certeine ne stable, But whirlyng a bowte and mutable. 1563Googe Eglogs, Cupido 648 That vyle deformed Churle Whose foggy Mates..do thycke aboute him whurle. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. v. v, Then wil I daunce and whirle about the ayre. 1676Mace Musick's Mon. 53 Let the Strings have scope enough to whirle about with clearness of Sound. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 331 His Spirits whirl'd about faster than the Vessels could convey them. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. v. (1856) 36 Rocks, about which the sea-swallow and kittiwake were whirling in endless rounds. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xxvii. 210 Dense clouds of snow rose, whirling in the air.
b. fig.
1582Bentley Mon. Matrones ii. 3 His spirit whurling in my hart, greater than I can declare. 1834Whittier Mogg Megone i. 426 What thoughts of horror and madness whirl Through the burning brain of that fallen girl! 1859W. Collins Q. of Hearts i, A child of the new generation, with all the modern ideas whirling together in her pretty head. 1862Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xii. ix. (1872) IV. 195 Breslau..is whirling with business.
2. To turn, esp. swiftly, around an axis, like a wheel; to revolve or rotate (rapidly); to spin.
In quot. 1588 fig. with allusion to the wheel of Fortune. In Mech. used spec. of a shaft revolving at excessive speed so as to become bent by the centrifugal force: see quot. 1894 s.v. whirling vbl. n. 1.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame iii. 916 This hous..was shapen lyke a cage..I the telle That but I bringe the therinne Ne shalt thou neuer kunne gynne To come in to hyt..So faste hit whirleth [v.rr. whyrleth, whirlyth] lo aboute. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xvii. (1495) C vij b, For his depnesse he [sc. the whirlpool] meuyth rounde aboute, whyrlynge & reboundyng. Therfore swymmers ben oft perisshyd. a1400–50Wars Alex. 5294 Twenti tamed Olifants turned it a-boute, Quirland all on queles. 1513Douglas æneis vii. vii. 88 As sum tyme sclentis the round top of tre, Hit with the twynit quhyp, dois quherle. 1563Mirr. Mag. ii. Collingbourne iv, We knowe..the course of Fortunes wheele, Howe constantly it whyrleth styll about. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 384 Iustice alwaies whirles in equall measure. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlviii. 148 Ȝon is Charybdis that vhirlis ay about. 1633T. James Voy. 14 The eddies whirle into twenty manners. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 29 A fire wheel which is to whirl horizontally in the water. 1833Tennyson Pal. Art 15 While Saturn whirls, his stedfast shade Sleeps on his luminous ring. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xli, Round whirled the wheels, and off they rattled. 1853Mrs. Gaskell Ruth vii, She sat down and could not speak—the room whirled round and round.
b. To turn round or aside quickly: = wheel v. 4.
a1861T. Winthrop Life in Open Air xii. (1863) 91 Instantly at the lucky hackle something darted, seized it, and whirled to fly..up the [river]. 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xxvii, The king whirls on me and rips out: ‘None o' your business!’ 1916S. E. White Bobby Orde xii, ‘What's this?’ asked Mr. Kincaid's quiet voice. The man whirled about.
3. trans. To cause to rotate or revolve, esp. swiftly or forcibly; to move (something) around an axis, or in a circle or the like: with various shades of meaning: to turn (a wheel, etc.), † twirl (a light object held in the hand), † roll (the eyes), flourish or swing round (a weapon, sling, etc.); spec. in Fencing (see quot. 1771).
a1400Morte Arth. 3261 A-bowte cho whirllide a whele with hir whitte hondez. c1440Promp. Parv. 525/1 Whyrlyn, as spynners wythe the whele. 1579Rice Invect. Vices C iv, Seruantes lacke worke, and stande whirlyng their knife aboute their fingers. 1614Gorges Lucan ix. 404 We cross the Axle of the world, And with the sphere about are whorled. a1633G. Herbert Jacula Prudentum (1640) 717 To whirle the eyes too much shewes a Kites braine. 1697Dryden æneis ix. 905 They whirl their Slings around. 1771Lonnergan Fencer's Guide Index, Whirling, is to whirl your adversary's blade about to the same parade again; that is, when you parry with a Half-circle, to whirl his blade round to a Tierce, and into a Half-circle again; or, you may whirl from one parade to another, as from a Quinte to a Quarte,..&c. 1774tr. Helvetius' Child Nat. lix. II. 308 Richard blushed through stupidity, and, whirling his hat, said he would please me. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 489 One with whom oft he whirled the bounding flail. 1823J. Wilson Marg. Lyndsay xix. 148 Widow Alison..was..whirling down a yard of twine from the roller, to tie a two-pound parcel of brown-sugar. 1830Herschel Study Nat. Phil. ii. vi. (1851) 149 A stone whirled round in a sling. 1835Dickens Sk. Boz, Greenwich Fair, The gentlemen..go down the middle and up again,..and whirl their partners round.
†b. To twist or twine around something. Obs.
1676Cotton Angler ii. vii. 64 The dubbing of a Bears dun whirl'd upon yellow silk.
4. intr. To move along swiftly on or as if on wheels; to travel fast in a wheeled vehicle; gen. to go swiftly or impetuously, rush or sweep along.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 475 Ho [sc. the dove] wyrle[d] out on þe weder on wyngez ful scharpe. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2222 Whyrlande out of a wro, wyth a felle weppen. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 13457 To Menelaus Troylus whirled. a1547Surrey æneis iv. 563 Whither whirles he? 1553Douglas's æneis xii. xiii. 158 The schaft thrawin, that quhirllis [v.r. quhirris] throw the skye. 1581A. Hall Iliad x. 177 The Lyons..downe whirling from the rocke,..for to assault the sheepe. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 49 Ile come and be thy Waggoner, And whirle along with thee about the Globes. 1697Dryden æneis ix. 956 A knotted Lance,..Which roar'd like Thunder as it whirl'd along. a1716South Serm. (1727) VI. 216 But the Report of it shall whirl and rattle over a whole Nation. 1722E. Ward Wand. Spy ii. 47 A Hackney Chaise came whirling by. 1816Scott Antiq. xx, Wha suld come whirling there in a post-chaise, but Monkbarns. 1859Kingsley Misc. II. v. 230 Travellers..within an hour's run of the greatest metropolis in the world, whirling through miles of desert. 1877Black Green Past. iii, The beautiful landscapes through which the train whirled. 1879E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis xxiv. (1882) I. 415 Turcoman cavalry whirling down in their usual loose order.
†b. trans. To go swiftly about or around (a place). Obs. rare—1.
1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V, cccxc, While he lay Full at the Seige, the Dolphin whirles the Coast.
5. trans. To drive (a wheeled vehicle), or convey in a wheeled vehicle, swiftly; gen. to drive, impel, carry, or urge along impetuously, as a strong wind or stream (often and now only with implication of circular movement, as in 7).
c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 663 Appollo whirleth vp his Chaar so hye. c1400Rom. Rose 4362 She [sc. Fortune] canne..whirle adown, and ouer turne Who sittith hieghst. 1513Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 30 So fast Phaeton wyth the quhip him quhirlys. 1616S. S. Honest Lawyer ii. D 4 b, A Coach, And prauncing Coursers, that shall whirle thee through The popular streetes. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. iv. i, Frae his Pouch he whirled forth a Book. 1781Cowper Retirem. 393 He steps into the welcome chaise..behind four handsome bays, That whirl away from business and debate The disincumber'd Atlas of the state. 1835Lytton Rienzi i. iii, In popular commotions, each man is whirled along with the herd. 1848Dickens Dombey xx, The..speed at which the train was whirled along. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xv. 3 The winds begin to rise..; The last red leaf is whirl'd away. 1854G. W. Curtis Potiphar Papers iv. (1866) 126 He whirled her off into the dance. 1873Black Pr. Thule ii, The gallant little horses that whirled them..into the open country. 1879Froude Cæsar xxiii. 398 He had been as a leaf whirled upon a winter torrent. 1907J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo x. 111 The river..becoming a raging..torrent, tearing up trees by the roots and whirling them along like straws.
b. fig.
1578Whetstone Promos & Cass. ii. iv. ii, Such dunghyll churles, Such newes, as is in market tounes, about the country whorles. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. lxxxvi. (1674) 114 The..fetches, by which unhappy mankind..is..with such publick calamity whirld about. 1837Hallam Lit. Eur. ii. vi. §46 Juliet is a child, whose intoxication in loving and being loved whirls away the little reason she may have possessed.
6. To throw or cast with violence, fling, hurl (esp. with rotatory movement, as from a sling). Also absol.
Formerly app. sometimes used by confusion for hurl (cf. per contra hurlpit, -pool, -wind).
c1440Wyclif's Bible 1 Sam. xvii. 49 (MS. Bodl. 277) Dauid..took o stoon, and he castide [v.r. whirlide] with the slynge. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 79 b, He taught theim..to whurle with a slyng, and to..cast a darte. Ibid. 138 b, A..boye..was whurleyng litle stones emong the thickest of y⊇ people. 1563P. Whitehorne Onosandro Platon. 78 Molested of the weapons whorlde from farre of. 1579–80North Plutarch, Crassus (1595) 611 Who gallowping vp and down the plaine, whirled vp the sand hils from the bottome with their horse feete. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 795 The boistrous Winde, that..proudest Turrets to the ground hath whurld. 1682Bunyan Holy War 104 Twelve slings, to whirle stones withal. 1718Pope Iliad xvi. 585 Sarpedon whirl'd his weighty Lance. 1742Gray Eton 72 Whirl the wretch from high.
†b. Gaming. To cast (the dice). Also absol.
1579Rice Invect. Vices E ij, Ye plaie naughteilye, whorle, take vp, the tricke is mine, shamfully caste. 1772Foote Nabob ii. (1778) 26 When you want to throw off six and four,..you must..whirl the dice to the end of the table. Ibid. 27, I shall be able to tap, stamp, dribble, and whirl, with any man in the club.
7. intr. To be affected with giddiness, to reel: usually (now only) of the head or brain.
1561Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 5 b, Many are whom the heade whyrleth so sore yt he thinketh the earth turneth vpsyde-doune. Ibid. 42 A..feuer..wherewith men do whyrle and be dismade. 1820Shelley Witch Atl. v, The dim brain whirls dizzy with delight. 1880‘Ouida’ Moths vi, You make my head whirl.
b. trans. To affect with giddiness; to put in a whirl or tumult. ? Obs.
1593Queen Elizabeth Boeth. iv. met. v. 90 Hydden causes whyrls y⊇ mynd. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 19, I am giddy: expectation whirles me round. 1685F. Spence tr. Varillas' Ho. Medicis 456 If he had not been whirl'd with a crotchet to buy a house. a1769Falconer Shipwr. iii. 627 Nor let this total ruin whirl my brain! 1829Good Study Med. (ed. 3) IV. 540 Precipices, the sight of which has whirled all his brains while awake.
▪ III. whirl(e
obs. var. harl n.1, herl.
1676Cotton Angler ii. vii. 64 A flie call'd the Peacock-flie; the body made of a whirl of a Peacocks feather. |