Whirlwind

4 definitions found

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

  Whirlwind \Whirl"wind`\, n. [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw.
     hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See {Whirl},
     and {Wind}, n.]
     [1913 Webster]
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods.
              And drowns the villages.              --Bryant.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the
           larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The
        whirlwind of hounds and hunters." --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  whirlwind
       n : a more or less vertical column of air whirling around itself
           as it moves over the surface of the Earth

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  58 Moby Thesaurus words for "whirlwind":
     Charybdis, ado, baguio, blaze, burst, bustle, convulsion, cyclone,
     dizzy round, dust devil, eddy, eruption, explosion, fit, flare-up,
     flurry, furore, fuss, gale, gurge, gust, gyre, hurricane,
     irruption, maelstrom, outbreak, outburst, paroxysm, pirouette,
     pother, rainspout, rat race, reel, rotary storm, round,
     sand column, sandspout, seizure, spasm, spin, storm, surge, swirl,
     tempest, tornado, turn, twirl, twister, typhoon, upheaval, vortex,
     waterspout, wheel, whirl, whirlblast, whirlpool, whirly,
     wind eddy
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  Whirlwind
       
           An early computer from the {MIT Research Laboratory
          for Electronics}.
       
          Whirlwind used {electrostatic memory} and ran {Laning and
          Zierler} (1953); and {ALGEBRAIC}, {COMPREHENSIVE} and {SUMMER
          SESSION} (all 1959).
       
          [Details, reference?]
       
          (2002-06-03)