different between whirl vs lash

English

Etymology

From Middle English whirlen, contracted from earlier *whervelen, possibly from Old English *hweorflian, frequentative form of Old English hweorfan (“to turn”), itself from Proto-Germanic *hwerban? (“turn”); or perhaps from Old Norse hvirfla (“to go round, spin”). Cognate with Dutch wervelen (“to whirl, swirl”), German wirbeln (“to whirl, swirl”), Danish hvirvle (“to whirl”), Swedish virvla (older spelling hvirfla), Albanian vorbull (“a whirl”). Related to whirr and wharve.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /w??l/ or IPA^(key): /???l/ (some Welsh and English accents)
• (US) enPR: wûrl, IPA^(key): /w?l/ or enPR: hwûrl, IPA^(key): /??l/
• (Scotland, Ireland) IPA^(key): /???(??)l/

Rhymes: -??(r)l

• Homophone: whorl

Verb

whirl (third-person singular simple present whirls, present participle whirling, simple past and past participle whirled)

1. (intransitive) To rotate, revolve, spin or turn rapidly.

   • He whirls his sword around without delay.

   • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

     The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

2. (intransitive) To have a sensation of spinning or reeling.

3. (transitive) To make something or someone whirl.

4. (transitive) To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch.
   • The passionate heart of the poet is whirl'd into folly.

Translations

Noun

whirl (plural whirls)

1. An act of whirling.

   She gave the top a whirl and it spun across the floor.

2. Something that whirls.
3. A confused tumult.
4. A rapid series of events.

   My life is one social whirl.

5. Dizziness or giddiness.

   My mind was in a whirl.

6. (informal) (usually following “give”) A brief experiment or trial.

   OK, let's give it a whirl.

Derived terms

• awhirl
• whirligig
• whirlpool

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /læ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Etymology 1

From Middle English lashe, lasshe, lasche (“a stroke; the flexible end of a whip”), from Proto-Germanic *laskô (“flap of fabric, strap”).
Cognate with Dutch lasch, las (“a piece; seal; joint; notch; seam”), German Low German Laske, Lask (“a flap; dag; strap”), German Lasche (“a flap; joint; strap; tongue; scarf”), Swedish lask (“scarf”), Icelandic laski (“the bottom part of a glove”).

Noun

lash (plural lashes)

1. The thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given.

   • I observed that your whip wanted a lash to it.

2. (obsolete) A leash in which an animal is caught or held; hence, a snare.
3. A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough.

4. A stroke of satire or sarcasm; an expression or retort that cuts or gives pain; a cut.
5. A hair growing from the edge of the eyelid; an eyelash.
6. In carpet weaving, a group of strings for lifting simultaneously certain yarns, to form the figure.

Translations

Verb

lash (third-person singular simple present lashes, present participle lashing, simple past and past participle lashed)

1. (transitive) To strike with a lash; to whip or scourge with a lash, or with something like one.

   • We lash the pupil, and defraud the ward

2. (transitive) To strike forcibly and quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash.
3. (transitive) To throw out with a jerk or quickly.
4. (transitive) To scold; or to satirize; to censure with severity.

   Synonym: berate

5. (intransitive) To ply the whip; to strike.
6. (intransitive) To utter censure or sarcastic language.

   • To laugh at follies, or to lash at vice.

7. (intransitive, of rain) To fall heavily, especially in the phrase lash down

Synonyms

• (to whip or scourge): Thesaurus:whip

Translations

See also

• lash out

Etymology 2

From Middle French lachier, from Old French lacier (“to lace”)

Verb

lash (third-person singular simple present lashes, present participle lashing, simple past and past participle lashed)

1. (transitive) To bind with a rope, cord, thong, or chain, so as to fasten.

   to lash something to a spar

   lash a pack on a horse's back

Translations

Etymology 3

From Old French lasche (French lâche).

Adjective

lash (comparative more lash, superlative most lash)

1. (obsolete) Remiss, lax.
2. (obsolete) Relaxed.
3. Soft, watery, wet.
   • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus (Folio Society 2007, p. 211)

     Fruits being unwholesome and lash before the fourth or fifth Yeare.

4. (Ulster) excellent, wonderful

   We’re off school tomorrow, it’s gonna be lash!

   That Chinese (food) was lash!

5. (Britain) Drunk.

Synonyms

• (remiss): at fault, blameworthy, lax, neglectful, negligent, reprehensible
• (relaxed): See Thesaurus:carefree or Thesaurus:calm
• (soft, watery, wet): spongy, squidgy; see also Thesaurus:wet
• (excellent): See Thesaurus:excellent
• (drunk): See Thesaurus:drunk

Anagrams

• Ahls, HALs, HLAs, Sahl, lahs, shal

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English laste, from Old English latost.

Adverb

lash

1. last

Adjective

lash

1. last

Related terms

• lauthest

References

• Jacob Poole (1867) , William Barnes, editor, A glossary, with some pieces of verse, of the old dialect of the English colony in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, J. Russell Smith, ?ISBN