whorl

whorl

one of the ridges of a fingerprint; a coil or curl: whorls of frost on a window
Not to be confused with:whirl – rotate or spin rapidly: The blades of the windmill whirl in the breeze.

whorlwhorls of leaves

whorl

W5151100 (wôrl, hwôrl, wûrl, hwûrl)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 arising 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. a. A small pulley that regulates the speed of the bobbin of a spinning wheel.b. A small flywheel that regulates the speed of a hand-operated spindle.

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

whorl

(wɜːl) n1. (Botany) botany a radial arrangement of three or more petals, stamens, leaves, etc, around a stem2. (Zoology) zoology a single turn in a spiral shell3. (Anatomy) one of the basic patterns of the human fingerprint, formed by several complete circular ridges one inside another. Compare arch^14b, loop^110a4. anything shaped like a coil[C15: probably variant of wherville whirl, influenced by Dutch worvel] whorled adj

whorl

(ʰwɜrl, ʰwɔrl, wɜrl, wɔrl)

n. 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 that form at least one complete circle. 5. a flywheel or pulley, as for a spindle. [1425–75; whorle, whorvil, wharwyl, Old English hwyrfel=hweorfa whorl of a spindle]

whorl

- A variant of whirl, it first meant "small flywheel."See also related terms for whirl.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	whorl - a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)curl, curlicue, gyre, ringlet, scroll, coil, rollcorolla - (botany) the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer of the perianth; "we cultivate the flower for its corolla"calyx - (botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually greenround shape - a shape that is curved and without sharp anglesverticil - a whorl of leaves growing around a stem
	2.	whorl - a strand or cluster of hair lock, ringlet, curlhair - a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss; "he combed his hair"; "each hair consists of layers of dead keratinized cells"coif, coiffure, hair style, hairdo, hairstyle - the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair)sausage curl - a fat sausage-shaped curlforelock - a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the foreheadcrimp - a lock of hair that has been artificially waved or curleddreadlock - one of many long thin braids of hair radiating from the scalp; popularized by Rastafarians
	3.	whorl - a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops; "a coil of rope"coil, helix, volute, spiralhank - a coil of rope or wool or yarnstructure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"; "she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons"

whorl

noun swirl, spiral, coil, twist, vortex, helix, corkscrew The plant has dense whorls of red-purple flowers.

Translations

Wirbelspiravoluta