whirlpool, vortex, maelstrom
(noun) a powerful circular current of water (usually the result of conflicting tides)
whirl, swirl, vortex, convolution
(noun) the shape of something rotating rapidly
Source: WordNet® 3.1
vortex (plural vortexes or vortices)
A whirlwind, whirlpool, or similarly moving matter in the form of a spiral or column.
(figuratively) Anything that involves constant violent or chaotic activity around some centre.
(historical) A supposed collection of particles of very subtle matter, endowed with a rapid rotary motion around an axis which was also the axis of a sun or planet; part of a Cartesian theory accounting for the formation of the universe, and the movements of the bodies composing it.
(zoology) Any of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera.
Source: Wiktionary
Vor"tex, n.; pl. E. Vortexes, L. Vortices. Etym: [L. vortex, vertex, -icis, fr. vortere, vertere, to turn. See Vertex.]
1. A mass of fluid, especially of a liquid, having a whirling or circular motion tending to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle, and to draw in towards the center bodies subject to its action; the form assumed by a fluid in such motion; a whirlpool; an eddy.
2. (Cartesian System)
Definition: A supposed collection of particles of very subtile matter, endowed with a rapid rotary motion around an axis which was also the axis of a sun or a planet. Descartes attempted to account for the formation of the universe, and the movements of the bodies composing it, by a theory of vortices.
3. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any one of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera. See Illustration in Appendix. Vortex atom (Chem.), a hypothetical ring-shaped mass of elementary matter in continuous vortical motion. It is conveniently regarded in certain mathematical speculations as the typical form and structure of the chemical atom.
– Vortex wheel, a kind of turbine.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
6 May 2025
(adjective) marked by or paying little heed or attention; “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics”--Franklin D. Roosevelt; “heedless of danger”; “heedless of the child’s crying”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
