Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

whirly en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From whirl + -y.

Meanings

  1. (informal) Visually suggestive of a swirl, whorl, or vortex.
    • The whirly pattern on the wallpaper.
  2. (informal) That moves in a whirling motion.
    • The whirly blades on top of a helicopter.
    • He was studying this brolga dance which was being performed with the accompaniment of a whirly haze of dust sprayed from the rusty wrecks of car bodies strewn over the flats behind them. 2013, Alexis Wright, The Swan Book, Constable (2016), page 101:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
whirlier Degree=Cmp lexicographic
whirliest Degree=Sup lexicographic

Deriveds

whirly-wind · whirly-bone · whirly tube

whirly en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From whirl + -y.

Meanings

  1. A snowy whirlwind in the Antarctic.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
whirlies Number=Plur lexicographic