whorl

American  

[hwurl, hwawrl, wurl, wawrl] / ʰwɜrl, ʰwɔrl, wɜrl, wɔrl /

noun

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, forming at least one complete circle.

5. Textiles. a flywheel or pulley, as for a spindle.

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whorl British  

/ wɜːl /

noun

1. botany a radial arrangement of three or more petals, stamens, leaves, etc, around a stem

2. zoology a single turn in a spiral shell

3. one of the basic patterns of the human fingerprint, formed by several complete circular ridges one inside another Compare arch 1 loop 1

4. anything shaped like a coil

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whorl Scientific  

/ hwôrl,wôrl,hwûrl,wûrl /

1. An arrangement of three or more appendages radiating in a circular or spiral arrangement from a point on a plant, as leaves around the node of a stem. The sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels of angiosperms form four separate whorls within a complete flower.

2. A single turn of a spiral shell of a mollusk.

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Other Word Forms

• whorled adjective

Etymology

Origin of whorl

1425–75; late Middle English whorle, whorvil, wharwyl, Old English hwyrfel, equivalent to hweorfa whorl of a spindle + -el noun suffix

Example Sentences

Now graceful whorls of green leaves poked through the damp soil, and the stalks had begun to rise, with only a tender green swelling where the flower buds would very soon be.

From Literature

A bird looks like an abstract whorl until you catch it at a particular angle; a man barely emerges from his stone, the cross on his neck just visible.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the early morning, the east-facing yard is alive with butterflies and bees, dancing over electric-purple whorls of celestial blue sage and sunny Palmer’s Indian mallow growing over the fence.

From Los Angeles Times

She also got an up-close look at the delicate purple whorls on the outside of exterior of the snails’ shells.

From Los Angeles Times

Representations of the religious teacher started out as nearly abstract symbols a few thousand years ago — a starburst shape inside a spiraling whorl, for example, which configures an emanation of light within an eternal flow.

From Los Angeles Times