Revised as of
14 Oct 2022
While whirl versus whorl, a pair of heterographs (a subset of homophone), are both nouns and verbs and curl around — with whorl a variant originating from whirl, there is a difference.
To whirl is a quick movement going around and round . . . or a frantic activity.
A whorl is a pattern of circles or spirals. And pattern just doesn’t work with frantic.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Whirl | Whorl |
|---|---|
Look Downstairs into Stairwell Whirl by quapan is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
Osteospermum by Tom Quine is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A whorl of spoon-shaped petals surround the center. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive
Plural for the noun: whirl Third person present verb: whirls |
Noun; Verb, intransitive
Plural for the noun: whorls Third person present verb: whorls |
| Noun A rapid movement around and around
The act of whirling
A short drive, run, walk, or the like
Something that whirls
A rapid round of events, affairs, etc. A state marked by dizziness or a dizzying succession of feelings, thoughts, etc. A state of confusion
An attempt or trial, especially one undertaken tentatively or experimentally [Machinery; whip] Eccentric rotation of a shaft having its center line slightly curved between supporting bearings Verb, intransitive:
To turn about or aside quickly Verb, transitive: To send, drive, or carry in a circular or curving course To drive, send, or carry along with great or dizzying rapidity [Obsolete] To throw or hurl violently with a revolving motion |
Noun: A pattern of spirals or concentric circles
Anything shaped like a coil
An area of hair growing in a radial manner [Mainly historical] A small wheel or pulley in a spinning wheel, spinning machine, or spindle Verb, intransitive: |
| Examples: | |
| Noun The parking lot was a whirl of snow. The event was all part of the mad social whirl. Cook had made us hazelnut whirls. The whirl of the baton was but a blur. The rapid whirl of windmill blades sang through the air. He gave Janis a quick whirl out and back. We took a whirl around the block. The secret of happiness is probably just getting out there and giving real life a whirl. The tempestuous whirl of circum-Antarctic waters is also responsible for their being among the most fertile in the world. It was a whirl of meetings, conferences, and business lunches. The stress of the social rounds left him in a whirl of agony. Even if you don’t agree with my plan, won’t you give it a whirl? Shaft whirl can be induced by damping. Verb, intransitive: Sybil stood waving as they whirled past. She whirled along the freeway in her new car. A kaleidoscope of images whirled through her brain. Kate made her way back to the office, her mind whirling. My head began to whirl. He whirled and faced his pursuers. Verb, transitive: He was whirled into the bushes. Whirl the popcorn occasionally to coat the kernels well with butter. The wind whirled the leaves round and round. Jason whirled the motorcycle around the corner. Jackson Pollock was known for whirling paint on his canvases. |
Noun: Shelley drew larger and larger dark whorls on her notepad. Analysis of the ecological reasons for the development of free whorls in modem gastropods may explain the reason for this condition in the Scoliostomatidae. Sepals and petals in the outer whorls are not sexual organs, but may serve to attract pollinators. Trillium species are characterized by a single trimerous flower subtended by a whorl of three leaves. “Then I spoke into the whorl of your ear . . . isn’t this love oh my warlock my lord . . .” With an image size of 4 by 3 inches, it evokes the distinctive whorls of fingerprints as well as the terraced topography of a rugged landscape. She spread the icing in peaks and whorls. Two whorls at the top of your head is referred to as a double crown. A two-oz spindle with a two-inch diameter whorl works for fine to medium thickness wool. Verb, intransitive: Another external clue seems to be hair whorling anti-clockwise on the head, which is now also thought to indicate the presence of the C gene. Histologically, thick collagen bundles were seen, characteristically whorling around vessels in a fibrotic stroma. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: whirling, whirly Adverb: whirlingly Noun: whirler, whirlies, whirligig, whirlpool, whirlwind, whirly, whirlybird |
Adjective: whorled |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English. The verb is probably from the Old Norse hvirfla meaning turn about; the noun partly from the Middle Low German, the Middle Dutch wervel meaning spindle, or from the Old Norse hvirfill meaning circle, from a Germanic base meaning rotate. | Late Middle English, sometime in the 1550s, denoting a small flywheel, is apparently a variant of whirl, influenced by the Old English wharve meaning whorl of a spindle. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Whirl versus Whorl
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Fingerprint Whorls, <https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/search/fingerprinting/>, by Open-Clipart Vectors and Whirl, <https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/dunkel-wirbel-strudel-windig-1755167/>, by AnandKze, <https://pixabay.com/de/users/anandkze-3271136/>, are both under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.
