different between maelstrom vs cycloniceddy

English

Etymology

Originally the name of a giant whirlpool supposed to exist off the west coast of Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh?- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)). The English word is cognate with Danish malstrøm, German Mahlstrom.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?me?lst??m/, /-st??m/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?me?l?st??m/, /?me?lzt??m/
• Hyphenation: mael?strom

Noun

maelstrom (plural maelstroms)

1. A large and violent whirlpool.
2. (figuratively) A chaotic or turbulent situation.

Alternative forms

• maelström (dated)

Translations

Notes

References

Further reading

• whirlpool on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “Maelstrom”, in The Merriam–Webster New Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1991, ?ISBN, page 300.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “maelstrom”, in Online Etymology Dictionary