whirlwind

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw. hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl, and Wind, noun

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.

The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods. And drowns the villages.— William Cullen Bryant

☞ Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones.

2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. “The whirlwind of hounds and hunters.” Thomas Babington Macaulay

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

<computer> 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)