WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Whirl"wind`
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw. hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl, and Wind, n.]
Definition : 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. Bryant.

Note: 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." Macaulay.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913