whorl

English

From alteration of whirl (verb).

whorl (plural whorls)

Main whorled patterns.

Each circle, volution or equivalent in a pattern of concentric circles, ovals, arcs, or a spiral.
(botany) A circle of three or more leaves, flowers, or other organs, about the same part or joint of a stem.
(zoology) A volution, or turn, of the spire of a univalve shell.
(anatomy) Any volution, as for example in the human ear or fingerprint.
A flywheel, a weight attached to a spindle. [from c. 1460]

pattern of concentric circles.

Dutch: kringel (nl) m, wervel (nl) m, winding (nl) f, wartel (nl) m, werdel (nl) m
Finnish: pyörre (fi)
French: volute (fr) f
German: Wirbel (de) m, Kringel (de) m, Windung (de) f
Maori: tōrino
Persian: پیچاپیچ‎ (fa) (pičâpič)

circle of three or more leaves, flowers, or other organs.

volution, or turn, of the spire of a univalve shell.

spindle whorl.

Albanian: qerthull (sq) m, agërshak (sq) m,
Armenian: լիսեռ (hy) (liseṙ)
Catalan: tortera (ca) f, fusaiola (ca) f
Danish: tenvægt c
Dutch: spinsteen m, spinsteentje n, spinschijf f
Finnish: värttinänkehrä
French: fusaïole (fr) f
Galician: fusaiola f
German: Spinnwirtel m
Greek: σφοντύλι (el) n (sfontýli)
Icelandic: snældusnúður
Italian: fusaiolo m
Norwegian: håndteinsnelle
Portuguese: fusaiola f
Romansch: rudella dal fis f
Russian: пря́слице (ru) (prjáslice), пря́сло (ru) (prjáslo), пря́слень (ru) (prjáslenʹ)
Spanish: fusayola (es) f, tortera f
Swedish: sländtrissa (sv) c, trissa (sv) c
Welsh: chwerfan f

whorl (third-person singular simple present whorls, present participle whorling, simple past and past participle whorled)

(intransitive) To form a pattern of concentric circles.
- 2008 February 12, Jennifer Dunning, “Modern Style, Old-Fashioned Virtues”, in New York Times‎:
  “Waves Against the Sand,” to music by Martinu, which opened the program, filled the stage space with whorling patterns of dancers surging with the gentle but ceaseless momentum of the sea.