a charge covering the entire field of an escutcheon and having the form either of a spirallike scroll or of a number of concentric rings, the whole field having two tinctures
intransitive verb
3.
to swirl like a whirlpool
Word origin
[1515–25; ‹ L gurges whirlpool]This word is first recorded in the period 1515–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: badger, engage, fairway, splice, unload