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whirlwind |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Whirlwind \Whirl"wind`\, n. [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr Sw hvirfvelvind Dan. hvirvelvind G. wirbelwind See {Whirl}, and {Wind}, n.] 1. A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion. The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods. And drowns the villages. --Bryant. Note: Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the larger rotary storm also such as cyclones. 2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. ``The whirlwind of hounds and hunters.'' --Macaulay. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: whirlwind n : a more or less vertical column of air whirling around itself as it moves over the surface of the Earth
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