different between pirouette vs twirl

English

Etymology

From French pirouette.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?.????t/, /?p?.?u???t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?.???w?t/, /?p?.?u???t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Noun

pirouette (plural pirouettes)

1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.
2. The whirling about of a horse.

Translations

Verb

pirouette (third-person singular simple present pirouettes, present participle pirouetting, simple past and past participle pirouetted)

1. (intransitive) To perform a pirouette; to whirl on the toes, like a dancer.

Translations

Further reading

• Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Pirouette (dressage) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French pirouette.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi.ru??.t?/
• Hyphenation: pi?rou?et?te
• Rhymes: -?t?

Noun

pirouette f (plural pirouettes or pirouetten)

1. pirouette

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi.?w?t/

Etymology 1

Alteration of pirouelle, perhaps after girouette.

Noun

pirouette f (plural pirouettes)

1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing.
2. (sports, equestrians) A whirling volt movement made by a horse.

Derived terms

• pirouetter

Descendants

Etymology 2

Verb

pirouette

1. first-person singular present indicative of pirouetter
2. third-person singular present indicative of pirouetter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of pirouetter
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of pirouetter
5. second-person singular imperative of pirouetter

Further reading

• “pirouette” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
• Vocabulaire de la danse classique on the French Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^fr

English

Etymology

Of Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian Nynorsk tvirla, Old High German dweran (German zwirlen, quirlen) and Icelandic þyrill Or, an alteration of tirl (“to twist”), with influence from whirl.; all from Proto-Germanic *þweran? (“to stir”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?tw??(?)l/
• Rhymes: -??(r)l

Noun

twirl (plural twirls)

1. A movement where a person spins round elegantly; a pirouette.
2. Any rotating movement; a spin.

   The conductor gave his baton a twirl, and the orchestra began to play.

3. A little twist of some substance; a swirl.
   • 1969, The South African Sugar Journal (volume 53, page 51)

     Place the cream in a piping bag with a fairly large star pipe attached, fill each tartlet with a twirl of cream and top with a strawberry.

4. (slang) A prison guard.

   Synonym: screw

   • 1958, Frank Norman, Bang to rights: an account of prison life (page 67)

     Which was in the main childishness and pettiness, the reason for this was that most of the twirls and the governors had […]

Translations

Verb

twirl (third-person singular simple present twirls, present participle twirling, simple past and past participle twirled)

1. (intransitive) To perform a twirl.
2. (transitive) To rotate rapidly.
   • 1753, Robert Dodsley, Agriculture

     See ruddy maids, / Some taught with dexterous hand to twirl the wheel.
3. (transitive) To twist round.
4. (baseball) To pitch.
   • 1949, Mark Raymond Murnane, Ground Swells: Of Sailors, Ships, and Shellac (page 302)

     When the batteries were announced, however, and Herb Pennock of the Boston Red Sox, probably the best pitcher in all baseballdom, was named to twirl for the invading team, we felt we had been tricked.

Derived terms

• twirl one's moustache

Translations

References