Forms: 3 ȝwirle, 4 wyrle, 4–6 whyrle, 4–7 whirle, 5 quirle, 6 whyrl, Sc. quherle, quhirl(l)e, vhirle, 6–7 whorle, whurl(e, 6– whirl. [prob. a. ON. hvirfla to turn about, whirl (Sw. virfla, obs. Da. hvirle, Da. hvirvle), related to ON. hvirfill circle, ring, esp. crown of the head, top, summit, pole of the heavens (MSw. hvirvil crown of the head, Sw. virvel, obs. Da. hvirrel, Da. hvirvel eddy, etc.) = (M)Du., (M)LG. wervel † whirlpool, † spindle, vertebra, swivel, bolt, OHG. wirbil, wirvil whirlwind (MHG., G. wirbel whirlwind, whirlpool, giddiness, vertebra, swivel, sheave, tumult; cf. wirbeln to whirl, trill, wirblig rotatory, giddy):—OTeut. *χwerƀil-, f. χwerƀ- to rotate: see WHARVE v., -EL1, -LE 1, 3.
OE. hwearflian, hwearftlian ‘errare’ (Northumb. hwærflung ‘error,’ ‘vicissitudo’) and *hwierflian, hwyrftlian to rotate, do not appear to have survived; they are app. based on the variant χwarƀ-, which is otherwise widely represented (cf. late Northumb. huarf ‘error,’ OE. *hwierfel, wirfel in place names, OHG. werbil ‘sistrum, plectrum,’ warbelôn ‘rotari, versari,’ warblich ‘versatilis,’ and forms s.v. WHARVE v.).
Contamination with hurl is seen in sense 6, as also in the variants HURLPOOL, HURLWIND of WHIRLPOOL, WHIRLWIND. Cf. similarly THIRLPOOL (association with THIRL, THRILL).]
1. intr. To move in a circle or similar curve, to circle, circulate; more vaguely, to move about in various directions, esp. with rapidity or force; to go (wander, fly, etc.) about; to be in commotion.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., 211/387. Þe kniȝt ȝwirlede op in þis blast, ase speldene doth, wel wide.
1412–20. Lydg., Chron. Troy, I. 1873. As þe blase whirleth of a fire, So to and fro þei fleen.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 525/1. Whyrlyn a-bowte, yn ydylnesse … vagor.
a. 1475. Ashby, Dicta Philos., 259. This world is not certeine ne stable, But whirlyng a bowte and mutable.
1563. Googe, Eglogs, Cupido, 648. That vyle deformed Churle Whose foggy Mates … do thycke aboute him whurle.
1602. Marston, Antonio’s Rev., V. v. Then wil I daunce and whirle about the ayre.
1676. Mace, Musick’s Mon., 53. Let the Strings have scope enough to whirle about with clearness of Sound.
1719. De Foe, Crusoe, II. (Globe), 331. His Spirits whirl’d about faster than the Vessels could convey them.
1853. Kane, Grinnell Exp., v. (1856), 36. Rocks, about which the sea-swallow and kittiwake were whirling in endless rounds.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. xxvii. 210. Dense clouds of snow rose, whirling in the air.
b. fig.
1582. Bentley, Mon. Matrones, II. 3. His spirit whurling in my hart, greater than I can declare.
1834. Whittier, Mogg Megone, I. 426. What thoughts of horror and madness whirl Through the burning brain of that fallen girl!
1859. W. Collins, Q. of Hearts, i. A child of the new generation, with all the modern ideas whirling together in her pretty head.
1862. Carlyle, Fredk. Gt., XII. ix. (1872), IV. 195. Breslau … is whirling with business.
2. To turn, esp. swiftly, around an axis, like a wheel; to revolve or rotate (rapidly); to spin.
In quot. 1588 fig. with allusion to the wheel of Fortune. In Mech. used spec. of a shaft revolving at excessive speed so as to become bent by the centrifugal force: see quot. 1894 s.v. WHIRLING vbl. sb. 1.
c. 1384. Chaucer, H. Fame, III. 916. This hous … was shapen lyke a cage … I the telle That but I bringe the therinne Ne shalt thou neuer kunne gynne To come in to hyt … So faste hit whirleth [v.rr. whyrleth, whirlyth] lo aboute.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XIII. xvii. (1495), C vij b. For his depnesse he [sc. the whirlpool] meuyth rounde aboute, whyrlynge & reboundyng. Therfore swymmers ben oft perisshyd.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alex., 5294. Twenti tamed Olifants turned it a-boute, Quirland all on queles.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VII. vii. 88. As sum tyme sclentis the round top of tre, Hit with the twynit quhyp, dois quherle.
1563. Mirr. Mag., II. Collingbourne, iv. We knowe … the course of Fortunes wheele, Howe constantly it whyrleth styll about.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., IV. iii. 384. Iustice alwaies whirles in equall measure.
a. 1600. Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, xlviii. 148. Ȝon is Charybdis that vhirlis ay about.
1633. T. James, Voy., 14. The eddies whirle into twenty manners.
1799. G. Smith, Laboratory, I. 29. A fire wheel which is to whirl horizontally in the water.
1833. Tennyson, Palace of Art, 15. While Saturn whirls, his stedfast shade Sleeps on his luminous ring.
1840. Dickens, Old C. Shop, xli. Round whirled the wheels, and off they rattled.
1853. Mrs. Gaskell, Ruth, vii. She sat down and could not speak—the room whirled round and round.
b. To turn round or aside quickly: = WHEEL v. 4.
a. 1861. T. Winthrop, Life in Open Air, xii. (1863), 97. Instantly at the lucky hackle something darted, seized it, and whirled to fly … up the [river].
1884. ‘Mark Twain,’ Huck. Finn, xxvii. The king whirls on me and rips out: ‘None o’ your business!’
1910. S. E. White, Bobby Orde, xii. ‘What’s this?’ asked Mr. Kincaid’s quiet voice.
The man whirled about.
3. trans. To cause to rotate or revolve, esp. swiftly or forcibly; to move (something) around an axis, or in a circle or the like: with various shades of meaning: to turn (a wheel, etc.), † twirl (a light object held in the hand), † roll (the eyes), flourish or swing round (a weapon, sling, etc.); spec. in Fencing (see quot. 1771).
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 3261. A-bowte cho whirllide a whele with hir whitte hondez.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 525/1. Whyrlyn, as spynners wythe the whele.
1579. Rice, Invect. Vices, C iv. Seruantes lacke worke, and stande whirlyng their knife aboute their fingers.
1614. Gorges, Lucan, IX. 404. We cross the Axle of the world, And with the sphere about are whorled.
a. 1633. G. Herbert, Jacula Prudentum (1640), 707. To whirle the eyes too much shewes a Kites braine.
1697. Dryden, Æneis, IX. 905. They whirl their Slings around.
1771. Lonnergan, Fencer’s Guide, Index, 268. Whirling, is to whirl your adversary’s blade about to the same parade again; that is, when you parry with a Half-circle, to whirl his blade round to a Tierce, and into a Half-circle again; or, you may whirl from one parade to another, as from a Quinte to a Quarte, or from a Quarte to a Segonde, &c.
1774. trans. Helvetius’ Child Nat., lix. II. 308. Richard blushed through stupidity, and, whirling his hat, said he would please me.
1807. Crabbe, Par. Reg., II. 489. One with whom oft he whirled the bounding flail.
1823. J. Wilson, Marg. Lyndsay, xix. 148. Widow Alison … was … whirling down a yard of twine from the roller, to tie a two-pound parcel of brown-sugar.
1830. Herschel, Study Nat. Phil., II. vi. (1851), 149. A stone whirled round in a sling.
1835. Dickens, Sk. Boz, Greenwich Fair. The gentlemen … go down the middle and up again,… and whirl their partners round.
† b. To twist or twine around something. Obs.
1676. Cotton, Angler, II. vii. 64. The dubbing of a Bears dun whirl’d upon yellow silk.
4. intr. To move along swiftly on or as if on wheels; to travel fast in a wheeled vehicle; gen. to go swiftly or impetuously, rush or sweep along.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 475. Ho [sc. the dove] wyrle[d] out on þe weder on wyngez ful scharpe.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 2222. Whyrlande out of a wro, wyth a felle weppen.
c. 1400. Laud Troy Bk., 13457. To Menelaus Troylus whirled.
a. 1547. Surrey, Æneis, IV. 563. Whither whirles he?
1553. Douglas’s Æneis, XII. xiii. 158. The schaft thrawin, that quhirllis [v.r. quhirris] throw the skye.
1581. A. Hall, Iliad, X. 177. The Lyons … downe whirling from the rocke,… for to assault the sheepe.
1588. Shaks., Tit. A., V. ii. 49. Ile come and be thy Waggoner, And whirle along with thee about the Globes.
1697. Dryden, Æneis, IX. 956. A knotted Lance,… Which roar’d like Thunder as it whirl’d along.
a. 1716. South, Serm. (1727), VI. 216. But the Report of it shall whirl and rattle over a whole Nation.
1722. E. Ward, Wand. Spy, II. 47. A Hackney Chaise came whirling by.
1816. Scott, Antiq., xx. Wha suld come whirling there in a post-chaise, but Monkbarns.
1859. Kingsley, Misc., II. v. 230. Travellers … within an hour’s run of the greatest metropolis in the world, whirling through miles of desert.
1877. Black, Green Past., iii. The beautiful landscapes through which the train whirled.
1879. E. O’Donovan, Merv Oasis, xxiv. (1882), I. 415. Turcoman cavalry whirling down in their usual loose order.
† b. trans. To go swiftly about or around (a place). Obs. rare–1.
1649. G. Daniel, Trinarch., Hen. V., cccxc. While he lay Full at the Seige, the Dolphin whirles the Coast.
5. trans. To drive (a wheeled vehicle), or convey in a wheeled vehicle, swiftly; gen. to drive, impel, carry, or urge along impetuously, as a strong wind or stream (often and now only with implication of circular movement, as in 7).
c. 1386. Chaucer, Squire’s T., 663. Appollo whirleth vp his Chaar so hye.
c. 1400. Rom. Rose, 4362. She [sc. Fortune] canne … whirle adown, and ouer turne Who sittith hieghst.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XII. Prol. 30. So fast Phaeton wyth the quhip him quhirlys.
1616. S. S., Honest Lawyer, II. D 4 b. A Coach, And prauncing Coursers, that shall whirle thee through The popular streetes.
1725. Ramsay, Gentle Sheph., IV. i. Frae his Pouch he whirled forth a Book.
1781. Cowper, Retirem., 393. He steps into the welcome chaise … behind four handsome bays, That whirl away from business and debate The disincumber’d Atlas of the state.
1835. Lytton, Rienzi, I. iii. In popular commotions, each man is whirled along with the herd.
1848. Dickens, Dombey, xx. The … speed at which the train was whirled along.
1850. Tennyson, In Mem., xv. 3. The winds begin to rise…; The last red leaf is whirl’d away.
1854. G. W. Curtis, Potiphar Papers, iv. (1866), 126. He whirled her off into the dance.
1873. Black, Pr. Thule, ii. The gallant little horses that whirled them … into the open country.
1879. Froude, Cæsar, xxiii. 398. He had been as a leaf whirled upon a winter torrent.
1907. J. H. Patterson, Man-Eaters of Tsavo, x. 111. The river … becoming a raging … torrent, tearing up trees by the roots and whirling them along like straws.
b. fig.
1578. Whetstone, Promos & Cass., II. IV. ii. Such dunghyll churles, Such newes, as is in market tounes, about the country whorles.
1656. Earl Monm., trans. Boccalini’s Advts. fr. Parnass., I. lxxxvi. (1674), 114. The … fetches, by which unhappy mankind … is … with such publick calamity whirld about.
1837. Hallam, Lit. Eur., II. vi. § 46. Juliet is a child, whose intoxication in loving and being loved whirls away the little reason she may have possessed.
6. To throw or cast with violence, fling, hurl (esp. with rotatory movement, as from a sling). Also absol.
Formerly app. sometimes used by confusion for hurl (cf. per contra HURLPIT, -POOL, -WIND).
c. 1440. Wyclif’s Bible, 1 Sam. xvii. 49 (MS. Bodl. 277). Dauid … took o stoon, and he castide [v.r. whirlide] with the slynge.
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph., 79 b. He taught theim … to whurle with a slyng, and to … cast a darte. Ibid., 138 b. A … boye … was whurleyng litle stones emong the thickest of ye people.
1563. P. Whitehorne, Onosandro Platon., 78. Molested of the weapons whorlde from farre of.
1579–80. North, Plutarch, Crassus (1595), 611. Who gallowping vp and down the plaine, whirled vp the sand hils from the bottome with their horse feete.
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. vi. 795. The boistrous Winde, that … proudest Turrets to the ground hath whurld.
1682. Bunyan, Holy War, 104. Twelve slings, to whirle stones withal.
1718. Pope, Iliad, XVI. 585. Sarpedon whirl’d his weighty Lance.
1742. Gray, Eton, 72. Whirl the wretch from high.
† b. Gaming. To cast (the dice). Also absol.
1579. Rice, Invect. Vices, E ij. Ye plaie naughteilye, whorle, take vp, the tricke is mine, shamfully caste.
1772. Foote, Nabob, II. (1778), 26. When you want to throw off six and four,… you must … whirl the dice to the end of the table. Ibid., 27. I shall be able to tap, stamp, dribble, and whirl, with any man in the club.
7. intr. To be affected with giddiness, to reel: usually (now only) of the head or brain.
1561. Hollybush, Hom. Apoth., 5 b. Many are whom the heade whyrleth so sore yt he thinketh the earth turneth vpsyde-doune. Ibid., 42. A … feuer … wherewith men do whyrle and be dismade.
1820. Shelley, Witch Atl., v. The dim brain whirls dizzy with delight.
1880. ‘Ouida,’ Moths, vi. You make my head whirl.
b. trans. To affect with giddiness; to put in a whirl or tumult. ? Obs.
1593. Q. Eliz., Boeth., IV. met. v. 90. Hydden causes whyris ye mynd.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., III. ii. 19. I am giddy: expectation whirles me round.
1685. F. Spence, trans. Varillas’ Ho. Medicis, 456. If he had not been whirl’d with a crotchet to buy a house.
a. 1769. Falconer, Shipwr., III. 627. Nor let this total ruin whirl my brain!
1829. Good, Study Med. (ed. 3), IV. 540. Precipices, the sight of which has whirled all his brains while awake.
