maelstrom

maelstrom
/mayl"streuhm/, n.
1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs: the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
3. (cap.) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.
[1550-60 for def. 3; < early D maelstroom, now sp. maalstroom, repr. mal(en) to grind + stroom stream. See MEAL2, STREAM]
Syn. 2. tumult, pandemonium, bedlam.

* * *

Norwegian  Moskenstraumen  or  Moskstraumen 

      marine channel and strong tidal current of the Norwegian Sea, in the Lofoten islands, northern Norway. Flowing between the islands of Moskenesøya (north) and Mosken (south), it has a treacherous current. About 5 miles (8 km) wide, alternating in flow between the open sea on the west and Vest Fjord on the east, the current may reach a speed of 7 miles (11 km) per hour with the changing of the tides, but the sea becomes calm in the moments when the tide switches direction. Strong local winds make the passage additionally dangerous. The word maelstrom entered the English language via the fiction of the French novelist Jules Verne (Verne, Jules) and the American short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe (Poe, Edgar Allan), who exaggerated the current of the channel into a great whirlpool; the word in English designates a large, fatal whirlpool, engulfing vessels and men, or a figurative application of the idea.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Maelstrom — saltstraumen. Maelstrom, moskoëstrom, mælstrøm, mailström o también moskstraumen es un gran torbellino que se halla en las costas meridionales del archipiélago noruego de las Lofoden, en la provincia de Nordland. Con más precisión se le ubica… …   Wikipedia Español

  • maelström — [ malstrøm ] ou malstrom [ malstrɔm ] n. m. • 1840; n. d un tourbillon de la côte norvégienne 1765; mot néerl., de malen « tourner » et strom « courant » 1 ♦ Courant tourbillonnaire marin. ⇒ gouffre, vortex. 2 ♦ Fig. et littér. Tourbillon. «… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Maelström — Maelstrom Un maelstrom ou malstrom est un puissant tourbillon qui se forme dans la mer ou dans un fleuve. Il peut être créé par un courant de marée (mer) ou par le courant d un fleuve. Le terme provient d une zone particulièrement agitée par le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Maelstrom — o Mælstrøm. Célebre gran torbellino que se halla en las costas meridionales del archipiélago noruego de las Lofoten, en la provincia de Norland. Con más precisión se le ubica entre las islas Sørland y Værøy de dicho archipiélago, en la latitud de …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Maelstrom — bezeichnet ein Computerspiel des Genres Shoot ’em up für Mac OS und Linux, siehe Maelstrom (Computerspiel) ein Computerstrategiespiel für den PC, siehe Maelstrom (2007) ein Musiklabel, siehe Maelstrom (Label) einen Spieleverlag, siehe Maelstrom… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • maelstrom — MAELSTRÓM s.n. Vârtej, vâltoare. [pron. mai ström, var. merstrom. / < fr. maelström, canal al mării Norvegiei, unde se produc curenţii turbionari puternici]. Trimis de LauraGellner, 02.06.2005. Sursa: DN  MAELSTROM MAL STRö M/ s. n. vârtej,… …   Dicționar Român

  • maelstrom — (n.) 1680s (Hakluyt, 1560s, has Malestrand), name of a famous whirlpool off the northwest coast of Norway, from Dan. malstrèm (1673), from older Du. Maelstrom (modern maalstroom), lit. grinding stream, from malen to grind (see MEAL (Cf. meal)) +… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Maelstrom — Mael strom, n. [Norw., a whirlpool.] 1. A celebrated whirlpool on the coast of Norway. Hence: any large or powerful whirlpool. Syn: whirlpool, vortex. [1913 Webster] 2. Also (Fig.) An uncontrollable agitated or confusedly disordered state or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • maelstrom — [n1] agitation bedlam, chaos, confusion, disorder, flap*, fuss, pandemonium, turbulence, turmoil, uproar; concepts 230,674 maelstrom [n2] whirlpool eddy, stir, swirl, undercurrent, undertow, vortex, whirl; concept 514 …   New thesaurus

  • Maelstrom — Maelstrom, so v. w Malstrom …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Maelstrom — Maelstrom, Wirbel im Nordmeer zwischen den 2 südlichsten Lossoden, nur bei Nordwind, der die rückkehrende Ebbe aufhält, gefährlich …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”