The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Swirl \Swirl\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Swirled; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Swirling.] [Akin to Norw. svirla to whirl, freq. of
   sverra to whirl, Dan. svirre, G. schwirren to whiz, to buzz.
   [root]177. See Swarm, n.]
   To whirl, or cause to whirl, as in an eddy. "The river
   swirled along." --C. Kingsley.
   [1913 Webster]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

67 Moby Thesaurus words for "swirling":
   ado, agitation, angular momentum, angular motion, angular velocity,
   axial motion, bowling, brouhaha, bustle, centrifugation,
   circulation, circumgyration, circumrotation, commotion,
   disturbance, ebullience, ebullition, eddy, effervescence,
   embroilment, feery-fary, ferment, fermentation, flurry,
   full circle, fume, gyrating, gyration, hurly-burly, hurry,
   hurry-scurry, pell-mell, perturbation, pivoting, reeling,
   revolution, revolving, roll, rolling, rotating, rotation,
   rotational motion, ruffle, spin, spinning, stir, swinging, swirl,
   swiveling, to-do, trolling, trundling, tumult, turbination,
   turbulence, turmoil, turning, twirling, uproar, volutation,
   volution, vortex, wheeling, whir, whirl, whirling, yeastiness