I. ˈhw]ȯ(ə)rl, ]ərl, esp before pause or consonant -rəl; ]ȯ(ə)l, ]ə̄l, ]əil also ˈw] noun
also wharl ]är(ə)l\
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English whorle, wharle, whorwhil, wharwyl, probably alteration of whirle, wherle, wherwill whorl of a spindle, whirl — more at whirl
1. : a drumlike 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 two or more anatomical parts or organs of one kind in a circle around the same point on an axis
a whorl of leaves
a whorl of flowers
3.
a. : something that whirls, coils, or spirals or whose form suggests such movement
whorls of rising chimney smoke
a first grade school paper of Spencerian push-ups and whorls — William Humphrey
b. : a circular or spiral shape ; especially : one used as a design motive (as in furniture)
4. : one of the turns of a univalve shell
5. : a terra-cotta disk that suggests a whorl, is found in ruins of ancient cities in Asia Minor, Africa, Italy, and India, and is supposed by some to have been used on spindles
6. : a fingerprint in which the central papillary ridges turn through at least one complete circle — see fingerprint illustration
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to arrange or form in coiled or spiral shapes
the whorled grain of his hair — Crary Moore
: arrange in a whorl
intransitive verb
: to turn with a spinning or spiral motion : swirl , whirl
watching the … billowing snow as it whorled down — Jean Stafford
hung over the banister until the blood whorled in her eyes — Nancy Cardozo