Also 5 swyrl(l)e, 6 swirle, Sc. sworle, sworll. [orig. Sc.; of uncertain source; if not of independent onomatopœic formation, prob. related to the similar Norw. dial. svirla, Du. zwirrelen to whirl, G. dial. schwirrlen to totter, which have the form of frequentatives of the stem contained in Da. svirre, Norw. dial. sverra, svirra, Sw. dial. svirra to whirl, G. schwirren to whiz, whir, chirp.]
1. An eddy, a whirlpool; an eddying or whirling body of water, in later use also of cloud, dust, etc.
c. 1425. Wyntoun, Cron., IV. iii. 261. Than gert he draw þat ryvere all In foure hundreth and sexty small Narow swyrlis.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, III. viii. 113. The swelland swirl wphesit ws to hevin. Ibid., IX. iii. 66. Be that ilk pyky laik, wyth brais blak And laithly sworlis [ed. 1553 swirlis]. Ibid., XII. xi. 125. A sworll of fyre blesis vpthraw!
1834. M. Scott, Cruise Midge, vi. (1836), I. 182. A white sheet of buzzing water,… in the small yeasty swirls of which the moon and stars sparkled diamond-like.
1840. Carlyle, Heroes, i. (1904), 19. The Nottingham bargemen, when the River is in a certain flooded state (a kind of backwater, or eddying swirl it has, very dangerous to them), call it Eager.
1853. Ruskin, Stones Venice, II. vi. § 8. 156. Seen through clefts in grey swirls of rain-cloud.
1861. J. R. Green, Lett., II. (1901), 84. On the outskirts of this awful scene lay a thick belt of smoke, parter here and there by fresh swirls of flame that leapt ever onward to some new prey.
1894. Crockett, Lilac Sunbonnet, 53. The keen, acrid swirls of wood-smoke blew into his eyes.
2. A whirling or eddying motion; a whirl, gyration.
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., xxxiv. The leaves are withering fast on the trees, but she’ll never see the Martinmas wind gar them dance in swirls like the fairy rings.
1818. Keats, Endym., III. 630. Headlong I darted; at one eager swirl Gain’d its bright portal.
1871. H. Macmillan, True Vine, v. (1872), 201. The slender, fragile, branched corals, yield to the swirl of the surging sea.
1902. S. E. White, Blazed Trail, xviii. He stepped … out on the flat rock to which his guide brought the canoe with a swirl of the paddle.
fig. 1791. Learmont, Poems, 51. The tricks o’ ilka ill gi’en churle He brawlie tells, An’ a’ their deeds winds to a swirl Wi’ logic spells.
1880. T. A. Spalding, Eliz. Demonol., 133. The very rush and swirl of town life.
3. A twist or convolution; a curl of hair; a knot in the grain of wood.
1786. Burns, Twa Dogs, 36. His gawsie tail, wi’ upward curl, Hung owre his hurdies wi’ a swirl.
1825. Jamieson, Swirl,… a twist or contortion in the grain of wood. S.
1844. Stephens, Bk. Farm, II. 217. The hair … which, notwithstanding its different swirls, all tends from the upper to the lower part of the body.
b. A tress of hair or strip of material round the head or hat. (Cf. SWIRL v. 1 b.) Also attrib.
1909. Daily Mail, 3 Aug. A swirl of tulle … draped to suggest the irregular surface of fur.
1909. Daily Graphic, 4 Oct., 13/1. The adjustment of the new hats … demands the new swirl coiffure.
1909. Punch, 10 Nov., 326/1. Put off, put off your alien ‘swirls,’ Resume … Those little inexpensive curls.
