vortex English · revision 1284

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvɔɹtɛks/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|vortex|t=whirlpool, eddy]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a variant of ''vertex'' “eddy of water, wind or flame; whirlwind”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''vertere'' “to turn”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[vertex]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An eddying mass of fire or flame (1652);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) in the cosmology of Descartes, a supposed rotating movement of cosmic matter around a centre (1653).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Descartes's theory of an invisible rotating ether is long discarded, but it gave rise to figurative senses (by 1704).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A whirlpool of water is recorded from 1704,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and in modern science a rapid motion of particles around an axis from 1847.^(OED 1989) The sense of a situation that draws everything into itself is from 1779.^(Etymonline) ''Vorticism'', the art movement, was named by Ezra Pound in 1914.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1652 – a whirling mass of flame.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1653 – a Cartesian cosmic vortex.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1704 – a whirlpool; figurative uses.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1779 – a situation that draws one in.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1914 – Vorticism.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A spiral motion of fluid, especially a whirling mass of water or air that sucks everything near it toward its centre, such as a [[whirlpool]] or [[tornado]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A situation or activity that draws into itself everything around it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In the philosophy of [[Descartes]], a rapid rotation of cosmic matter around an axis.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vorticism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vortical]]

+ * [[vorticity]]

+ * [[vertex]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster gives ''vortices'' and ''vortexes'' as plurals.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}