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Origin and history of whirlpool

whirlpool(n.)

"circular eddy or current in a river or sea, place where water is in constant circular motion," 1520s, from whirl (v.) + pool (n.1). Old English had hwyrfepol and wirfelmere; whirl-pit is from c. 1500.

In reference to a type of bath fitted with jets, for therapy, relaxation, etc., by 1975.

also from 1520s

Entries linking to whirlpool

pool(n.1)

"small body of standing water," Old English pol "small body of water; deep, still place in a stream," from Proto-West Germanic *pōl- (source also of Old Frisian and Middle Low German pol, Dutch poel, Old High German pfuol, German Pfuhl "pool, puddle"), which is of uncertain origin, perhaps a substratum word [Boutkan]. As a short form of swimming pool it is recorded from 1901. Pool party "party at a swimming pool" is by 1965.

whirl(v.)

c. 1300, whirlen, "move with a circular motion; go swiftly; move erratically;" probably from Old Norse hvirfla "to go round, spin," related to hvirfill "circle, ring, crown," and to Old English hweorfan "to turn" (see wharf). Related: Whirled; whirling.

Whirler (n.) is by mid-15c. as "person who whirls" (of dervishes, etc.); by 1860 in reference to revolving mechanisms. Colloquial whirlybird "helicopter" is attested from 1945 in U.S. military jargon.

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    Trends of whirlpool

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    eddy
    mid-15c., Scottish ydy, possibly related to Old Norse iða "whirlpool," from Proto-Germanic *ith- "a second time, again," which is related to the common Old English prefix ed- "again, backwards; repetition, turning" (forming such words as edðingung "reconciliation," edgift "restit
    purl
    "knit with inverted stitches," 1825; earlier "embroider with gold or silver thread" (1520s), probably from Middle English pirlyng "revolving, twisting," of unknown origin. The two senses usually are taken as one word, but even this is not certain. Klein suggests a source in Itali
    vortex
    1650s, "whirlpool, eddying mass," from Latin vortex, variant of vertex "an eddy of water, wind, or flame; whirlpool; whirlwind," from stem of vertere "to turn" (from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend"). Plural form is vortices. Became prominent in 17c. theories of astrophysics (b
    maelstrom
    1680s (Hakluyt, 1560s, has Malestrand), name of a famous tidal whirlpool off the northwest coast of Norway, supposed to suck...Popularized as a synonym for "whirlpool" from c. 1841, the year of Poe's "A Descent into the Maelstrom."...
    gorge
    throat," from Old French gorge "throat; a narrow passage" (12c.), from Late Latin gurges "gullet, throat, jaws," also "gulf, whirlpool...
    gulf
    late 14c., "profound depth," from Old French golf "a gulf, whirlpool," from Italian golfo "a gulf, a bay," from Late Latin...
    navel
    Navel" words from other roots include Lithuanian bamba, Sanskrit bimba- (also "disk, sphere"), Greek bembix, literally "whirlpool...
    course
    c. 1300, "onward movement, motion forward, a running in a prescribed direction or over a prescribed distance; path or distance prescribed for a race, a race-course" from Old French cors "course; run, running; flow of a river" (12c.), from Latin cursus "a running; a journey; direc
    source
    mid-14c., "support, base," from Old French sourse "a rising, beginning, fountainhead of a river or stream" (12c.), fem. noun taken from past participle of sourdre "to rise, spring up," from Latin surgere "to rise, arise, get up, mount up, ascend; attack," a contraction of surrige
    current
    c. 1300, curraunt, "running, flowing, moving along" (a sense now archaic), from Old French corant "running, lively, eager, swift," present participle of corre "to run," from Latin currere "to run, move quickly" (of persons or things), from PIE root *kers- "to run." Related: Curre

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    Dictionary entries near whirlpool
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