Vertiginous

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vertiginous \Ver*tig"i*nous\, a. [L. vertiginosus, fr. vertigo a
     whirling around, giddiness: cf. F. vertigineux. See
     {Vertigo}.]
     1. Turning round; whirling; rotary; revolving; as, a
        vertiginous motion.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Some vertiginous whirl of fortune.    --De Quincey.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Affected with vertigo; giddy; dizzy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              They [the angels] grew vertiginous, and fell from
              the battlements of heaven.            --Jer. Taylor.
        [1913 Webster] -- {Ver*tig"i*nous*ly}, adv. --
        {Ver*tig"i*nous*ness}, n.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  vertiginous
       adj : having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling;
             "had a dizzy spell"; "a dizzy pinnacle"; "had a
             headache and felt giddy"; "a giddy precipice"; "feeling
             woozy from the blow on his head"; "a vertiginous climb
             up the face of the cliff" [syn: {dizzy}, {giddy}, {woozy}]