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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

pinwheel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɪnˌhwiːl/ (rare)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈpɪnˌwiːl/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *pinnaz Proto-West Germanic *pinn Old English pinn Middle English pinne English pin Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel English pinwheel From pin + wheel.

Meanings

  1. A cogged (toothed) gear.
  2. A toy for children, comprising an artificial (usually plastic) stem and a flower that spins round in the wind like a tiny windmill.
  3. (Canada, US, qualifier:pyrotechnics) A firework that spins in the shape of a spinning wheel.
    • The sun blazing late in the afternoon, this long hilarious day like a pinwheel inexhaustibly throwing off sparks. 1992, Joyce Carol Oates, Black Water, paperback edition, Penguin Books, page 125:
  4. A pastry made by laying out dough flat, smearing a topping over it and rolling it up into a spiral, then baking it, resulting in a swirl of filling.
  5. Any food product consisting of layers (for example of pastry and sweet filling, or of bread and meat) rolled into a spiral.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pinwheels Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

pinwheel mushroom · Wartenberg pinwheel · pinwheel flower · pinwheel sandwich

Synonyms

Catherine wheel · roll · swirl · rollup

Translations (36)

th กังหันลม (fake flower for children) · tr rüzgârgülü (fake flower for children) · pt cata-vento (fake flower for children) · as চকৰি (fake flower for children) · bg книжна въртележка (fake flower for children) · fr moulin à vent (fake flower for children) · mi pekapeka (fake flower for children) · ga muileann (fake flower for children) · ko 바람개비 (fake flower for children) · cmn 風車 /风车 (fake flower for children) · is rella (fake flower for children) · fi väkkärä (fake flower for children) · is vindrella (fake flower for children) · pl wiatraczek (fake flower for children) · id kincir angin (fake flower for children) · izh väkkärä (fake flower for children) · hi फ़रफ़री (fake flower for children) · ru верту́шка (fake flower for children) · gl andavía (fake flower for children) · de Windrad (fake flower for children) · sv vindsnurra (fake flower for children) · nl windmolentje (fake flower for children) · gl viraventos (fake flower for children) · es ventolera (fake flower for children) · da vindmølle (fake flower for children) · my လေစကြာ (fake flower for children) · km កង្ហារ (fake flower for children) · es molinete (fake flower for children) · cs větrník (fake flower for children) · fr moulinet (fake flower for children) · vi chong chóng (fake flower for children) · es rehilete (fake flower for children) · es molinillo (fake flower for children) · ja 風車 (fake flower for children) · sk veterník (fake flower for children) · it girandola (fake flower for children)

pinwheel en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɪnˌhwiːl/ (rare)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ˈpɪnˌwiːl/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *pinnaz Proto-West Germanic *pinn Old English pinn Middle English pinne English pin Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel English pinwheel From pin + wheel.

Meanings

  1. (ambitransitive) To spin.
    • The damaged fighter jet pinwheeled out of control, the g-forces pushing the pilot so hard he couldn't reach the ejection switch.
    • The laws of physics and chemistry transform a meadow of fine powder into a wreckage of icy chunks. Saugstad’s pinwheeling body would freeze into whatever position it was in the moment the snow stopped. 2012 December 26, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2013:
    • Uncertainly, he stepped back, bumping into the short skirt of the seawall. He stumbled and pinwheeled his arms for balance. 2009, David Wren, The Repossession, page 226:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pinwheeled Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
pinwheeled Tense=Past lexicographic
pinwheels Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
pinwheeling Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic