[whorl] n [ME wharle, whorle, prob. alter. of whirle, fr. whirlen to whirl] (15c) 1: a drum-shaped section on the lower part of a spindle in spinning or weaving machinery serving as a pulley for the tape drive that rotates the spindle
2: an arrangement of similar anatomical parts (as leaves) in a circle around a point on an axis
3: something that whirls, coils, or spirals or whose form suggests such movement: swirl "~s of snow"
4: one of the turns of a univalve shell
5: a fingerprint in which the central papillary ridges turn through at least one complete circle