Dictionary

maelstrom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmeɪlˌstɹɒm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈmeɪlˌstɹɔm/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈmeɪlˌstɹɑm/ (General-American)
• /ˈmeɪl.stɹəm/ (General-American)
• /ˈmæl.stɹəm/ (General-American)
• /ˈmeɪl.stɹəm/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

The word was originally the name of a giant whirlpool off Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, likely the actual tidal pool system of Moskstraumen in Lofoten. It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (“whirlpool”) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (“to whirl around; to grind”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”)) + stroom (“stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow, stream”)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841). Cognates * Danish malstrøm * German Mahlstrom * Swedish malström

Meanings

1. A large and violent whirlpool.
   • The falukah plunged over a waterfall and was almost submerged, was caught again in a maelstrom and went twirling on in the blackness. 1914 November 14, Arthur Train, [Robert Williams Wood], “The Man Who Rocked the Earth”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 187, number 20, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, chapter VI, page 65, column 2:
   • To his right fell a gleaming sheet of water, and below it was a maelstrom, that made one giddy by its terrific gyrations. 1905, James Edward Preston Muddock, “A Petrified Forest”, in The Sunless City […], London: F. V. White & Co., →OCLC:
   • A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake. 2001 April 26, Eoin Colfer, “Troll”, in Artemis Fowl, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Scholastic, published September 2001, →ISBN, page 212:
2. (figuratively) A chaotic or turbulent situation.
   • He escaped at last, dizzy from the maelstrom of conflicting emotions that had caught and whirled him. 1922, Harry Leon Wilson, “‘Five Reels—500 Laughs’”, in Merton of the Movies, Garden City, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 310:
   • An officer makes his way through the maelstrom to report a serious fire in one of the turrets. Rozhestvensky laconically orders him to try and put it out, as there isn't much he can do from inside the conning tower. 2019 September 18, Drachinifel, 21:07 from the start, in Battle of Tsushima - When the 2nd Pacific Squadron thought it couldn't get any worse..., archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:
   • The terminal station, Richmond, is managed by South West Trains, heirs to the London & South Western Railway, and here the District fades into a railway maelstrom, since Richmond is not only on the Waterloo-Reading line but is also the westerly terminus of the London Overground. 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, page 80:
   • A Twitter post intended to celebrate a funny photo of Abby, a “chonk” sea otter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, instead stirred an online maelstrom of criticism, KNTV reports. 2018 December 20, Don Sweeney, “Aquarium apologizes for ‘offensive’ Twitter post praising Abby the ‘thicc’ otter”, in The Sacramento Bee, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2020:
   • Five, he has no idea what else could be out there. For example, if British doctrine was anything like his own, then even at this moment, dozens of British destroyers might be swarming towards him, about to envelop his forces in a maelstrom of torpedoes, and the first thing he'd know about it is when things start exploding! (Well, even more than they already are now.) 2020 August 5, Drachinifel, 19:53 from the start, in The Battle of Jutland - Clash of the Titans - Part 2 (Jellicoe vs Scheer), archived from the original on 12 Sep 2022:
   • Setting our sights back on King's Landing, where the Last War will be waged, makes a lot of sense, even if it does feel a bit anticlimactic after last week's deadly, blustery maelstrom. 2019 May 5, Danette Chavez, “Campaigns are Waged On and Off the Game Of Thrones Battlefield (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 28 Jan 2021:
   • It was of Jean Paul's doing: some single billow in that vast World-Mahlstrom of Humour, with its heaven-kissing coruscations, which is now, alas, all congealed in the frost of death! 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Characteristics”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 22:

Forms

Deriveds

maelstromic

Synonyms

vortex · pandemonium

Translations (84)

tl alimpuyo (large and violent whirlpool) · ru водоворо́т (large and violent whirlpool) · dum wiel (large and violent whirlpool) · fy draaistream (large and violent whirlpool) · pt voragem (large and violent whirlpool) · es vorágine (chaotic or turbulent situation) · mk водо́вртеж (large and violent whirlpool) · sh вир (large and violent whirlpool) · ro vârtej (large and violent whirlpool) · mk водо́вртеж (chaotic or turbulent situation) · nl maalstroom (chaotic or turbulent situation) · ja 大渦巻き (large and violent whirlpool) · el δίνη (large and violent whirlpool) · sh ковѝтлац (chaotic or turbulent situation) · pl zamęt (chaotic or turbulent situation) · fr tourbillon (large and violent whirlpool) · ru вихрь (chaotic or turbulent situation) · hy հորձանուտ (large and violent whirlpool) · ca voràgine (chaotic or turbulent situation) · nl draaikolk (large and violent whirlpool) · be вір (large and violent whirlpool) · cmn 漩渦 /漩涡 (large and violent whirlpool) · ca voràgine (large and violent whirlpool) · sh ковѝтлац (large and violent whirlpool) · nb malstrøm (large and violent whirlpool) · no malstraum (chaotic or turbulent situation) · ceb lilo (large and violent whirlpool) · mk ви́тел (large and violent whirlpool) · cmn 混亂局面 /混乱局面 (chaotic or turbulent situation) · sh вр̀тлог (large and violent whirlpool) · fi kurimus (large and violent whirlpool) · pt turbilhão (chaotic or turbulent situation) · hu forgatag (chaotic or turbulent situation) · pl wir (large and violent whirlpool) · sh вр̀тлог (chaotic or turbulent situation) · hu kavargás (chaotic or turbulent situation) · sv malström (chaotic or turbulent situation) · af maalstroom (chaotic or turbulent situation) · fo malustreymur (large and violent whirlpool) · de Strudel (large and violent whirlpool) · sh vr̀tlog (chaotic or turbulent situation) · af maalstroom (large and violent whirlpool) · hy ջրապտույտ (large and violent whirlpool) · it voragine (large and violent whirlpool) · sh vir (large and violent whirlpool) · hu örvény (chaotic or turbulent situation) · be водаварот (chaotic or turbulent situation) · nl maalstroom (large and violent whirlpool) · da malstrøm (large and violent whirlpool) · et maelström (large and violent whirlpool) · fo meldur (large and violent whirlpool) · it maelstrom (large and violent whirlpool) · ka მორევი (large and violent whirlpool) · ja 狂瀾怒涛 (chaotic or turbulent situation) · he מערבולת (large and violent whirlpool) · it gorgo (large and violent whirlpool) · lv atvars (large and violent whirlpool) · hu örvény (large and violent whirlpool) · eo malstromo (large and violent whirlpool) · fr maëlstrom (large and violent whirlpool) · fo meldurstreymur (large and violent whirlpool) · sh kovìtlac (chaotic or turbulent situation) · es vorágine (large and violent whirlpool) · ja 狂瀾怒涛 (large and violent whirlpool) · ru водоворо́т (chaotic or turbulent situation) · no malstrøm (chaotic or turbulent situation) · no mælstrøm (chaotic or turbulent situation) · sv malström (large and violent whirlpool) · eo akvokirlo (large and violent whirlpool) · sh vr̀tlog (large and violent whirlpool) · cmn 旋渦 /旋涡 (large and violent whirlpool) · pl zamieszanie (chaotic or turbulent situation) · be водаварот (large and violent whirlpool) · de Mahlstrom (large and violent whirlpool) · sh kovìtlac (large and violent whirlpool) · sk vír (large and violent whirlpool) · fi kurimus (chaotic or turbulent situation) · nl kolk (large and violent whirlpool) · nn malstraum (large and violent whirlpool) · is straumröst (large and violent whirlpool) · bg водовъртеж (large and violent whirlpool) · it vortice (large and violent whirlpool) · be вір (chaotic or turbulent situation) · eo akvoturno (large and violent whirlpool)

wikipedia: A Descent into the Maelström · wikipedia: Edgar Allan Poe · wikipedia: Harry Clarke · wikipedia: Moskstraumen · wikipedia: Edgar Allen Poe