Link Centre Dictionary

twirl

UK/twɜːl/ US/twɝl/ uncommon slang
verb (2) noun (2)

verb

1.

turn in a twisting or spinning motion

  • “The leaves swirled in the autumn wind”
Synonyms
2.

cause to spin

  • “spin a coin”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is pulled tight

Synonyms
2.

the act of rotating rapidly

  • “he gave the crank a spin”
  • “it broke off after much twisting”
Synonyms

Origin

Of Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian Nynorsk tvirla, Old High German dweran (German zwirlen, quirlen), Dutch dwarrelen and Icelandic þyrill; all from Proto-Germanic *þwirilaz (“stirring-stick, whisk”), *þweraną (“to stir”). Or, an alteration of tirl (“to twist”), with influence from whirl.

Phrases

  • twirl one's moustache
  • twirl one's thumbs

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.