Wiktionary

swirl

English

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A swirl in water

Etymology

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From Middle English swirlen (“to eddy, swirl”), probably from Old Norse *svirla (“to swirl”), a frequentative form of Old Norse sverra (“to swing, twirl”). Cognate with Scots swirl, sworl (“to eddy, swirl”), Norwegian Nynorsk svirla (“to whirl around; swirl”), Swedish sorla (“to murmur, buzz”), Dutch zwirrelen (“to swirl”). Compare also West Frisian swiere (“to reel, whirl”), Dutch zwieren (“to reel, swing around”), German Low German swirren (“to whizz, whirl or buzz around”), German schwirren (“to whirr, whizz, buzz”), Swedish svirra (“to whirr about, buzz, hum”), Danish svirre (“to whizz, whirr”). Related to English swarm.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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swirl (third-person singular simple present swirls, present participle swirling, simple past and past participle swirled)

  1. (ambitransitive) To twist or whirl, as an eddy.
    I swirled my brush around in the paint.
    • 1857, Charles Kingsley, “(please specify the page)”, in Two Years Ago, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC:
      The river swirled along.
    • 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport‎[1]:
      The contest was a lot more even in the second half, as the wind swirled around the Stadium of Light, but it took Craig Gardner's superb block to prevent Young getting on the scoresheet.
  2. To be arranged in a twist, spiral or whorl.
  3. (intransitive, figurative) To circulate.
    • 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, “British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 May 2013:
      Mr. Cameron had a respite Thursday from the negative chatter swirling around him when he appeared outside 10 Downing Street to denounce the murder a day before of a British soldier on a London street.
    • 2026 March 31, Lisa Respers France, “Celine Dion announces her return to the stage”, in edition.cnn.com‎[2]:
      Rumors began to swirl last week that Dion would once again be performing after posters with her various song titles began popping up around the French capital.
  4. (African-American Vernacular, dated) To mingle interracially.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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swirl (plural swirls)

  1. A whirling eddy.
    • 1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four‎[3], London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:
      Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
  2. A twist or coil of something.
  3. (fishing) The upward rushing of a fish through the water to take the bait.
  4. (African-American Vernacular, dated) Interracial mingling (e.g. dating, sex, marriage, etc.).
    She told that white boy she wasn't down with the swirl and to take himself a hike.
    • 2023, Yomi Adegoke, The List, 4th Estate, page 198:
      In truth, it was more to do with keeping up with the latest gossip on YouTube famous interracial ‘swirl’ couples and reality stars.
  5. (cooking) Synonym of pinwheel (“food product with spiral layers”).
    Synonyms: pinwheel, roll, rollup
    I'm baking some cheese swirls.

Derived terms

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Translations

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