different between whirl vs whir

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

• Rhymes: -??(?)

Noun

whir (plural whirs)

1. Alternative spelling of whirr
   • 1909, William Hope Hodgson, The Ghost Pirates

     Suddenly, the time-keeper struck three bells, and the deeper notes of the bell forrard, answered them. I gave a start. It seemed to me that they had been struck close to my elbow. There was something unaccountably strange in the air that night. Then, even as the Second Mate answered the look-out's "All's well," there came the sharp whir and rattle of running gear, on the port side of the mainmast.

Verb

whir (third-person singular simple present whirs, present participle whirring, simple past and past participle whirred)

1. Alternative spelling of whirr