whirlpool

whirlpool
/hwerrl"poohl', werrl"-/, n.
1. water in swift, circular motion, as that produced by the meeting of opposing currents, often causing a downward spiraling action.
3. Heraldry. gurge (def. 2).
[1520-30; WHIRL + POOL1; cf. late OE hwyrfepol]

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      rotary oceanic current, a large-scale eddy that is produced by the interaction of rising and falling tides. Similar currents that exhibit a central downdraft are termed vortexes and occur where coastal and bottom configurations provide narrow passages of considerable depth. Slightly different is vortex motion in streams; at certain stages of turbulent flow, rotating currents with central updrafts are formed. These are called kolks, or boils, and are readily visible on the surface.

      Notable oceanic whirlpools include those of Garofalo (supposedly the Charybdis of ancient legend), along the coast of Calabria in southern Italy, and of Messina, in the strait between Sicily and peninsular Italy. The Maelstrom (from Dutch for “whirling stream”) located near the Lofoten Islands, off the coast of Norway, and whirlpools near the Hebrides and Orkney islands are also well known. A characteristic vortex occurs in the Naruto Strait, which connects the Inland Sea (of Japan) and the Pacific Ocean.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Whirlpool — Whirlpool …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • WHIRLPOOL — es una función de hash diseñada por Vincent Rijmen y Paulo S. L. M. Barreto. El hash ha sido recomendado por el proyecto NESSIE y ha sido adoptado por la Organización Internacional de Estandarización (ISO) y la Comisión Electrotécnica… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Whirlpool — хеш алгоритм, авторы Vincent Rijmen и Paulo S. L. M. Barreto. Работает на вводе до 2256 бит. Выходное значение алгоритма хеширования Whirlpool составляет 512 бит. Первая версия Whirlpool была опубликована в ноябре 2000 го года. Вторая версия… …   Википедия

  • Whirlpool — [ˈʍɜːɹlˌpuːl] kann folgende Bedeutungen haben: ein Wasserbecken bzw. Badewanne, siehe Whirlpool (Becken) ein Hersteller von Haushaltsgeräten, siehe Whirlpool Corporation ein Gefäß in der Brauerei, siehe Whirlpool (Brauerei) eine kryptographische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • whirlpool — [hwʉrl′po͞ol΄, wʉrl′po͞ol΄] n. 1. water in rapid, violent, whirling motion caused by two meeting currents, by winds meeting tides, etc. and tending to form a circle into which floating objects are drawn; vortex or eddy of water 2. anything like a …   English World dictionary

  • whirlpool — ► NOUN 1) a quickly rotating mass of water in a river or sea into which objects may be drawn. 2) (also whirlpool bath) a heated pool in which hot aerated water is continuously circulated …   English terms dictionary

  • Whirlpool — Whirl pool , n. [1913 Webster] 1. An eddy or vortex of water; a place in a body of water where the water moves round in a circle so as to produce a depression or cavity in the center, into which floating objects may be drawn; any body of water… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • WHIRLPOOL — es una función de hash diseñada por Vincent Rijmen y Paulo S. L. M. Barreto. El hash ha sido recomendado por el proyecto NESSIE y ha sido adoptado por la Organización Internacional de Estandarización (ISO) y la Comisión Electrotécnica… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • whirlpool — 1520s, from WHIRL (Cf. whirl) (v.) + POOL (Cf. pool) (1). O.E. had hwyrfepol and wirfelmere …   Etymology dictionary

  • whirlpool — *eddy, maelstrom, vortex …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • whirlpool — [n] spinning water eddy, maelstrom, stir, undercurrent, undertow, vortex, whirl; concept 514 …   New thesaurus

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