noun
Meaning 1
A swirling vortex.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: literary, poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
gyre
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /d͡ʒaɪ.ə/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: jīər
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General-American: /d͡ʒaɪ.ɚ/
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rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)
noun
Meaning 2
A circular or spiral motion; also, a circle described by a moving body; a revolution, a turn.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: literary, poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: circuit, whirl
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Synonym of gyrus (“a fold or ridge on the cerebral cortex of the brain”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
Topics: anatomy, biology, medicine, natural-sciences, sciences, zoology, zootomy
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gyrus
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
An ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner, especially one that is large-scale and observed in a major ocean.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geography, natural-sciences, oceanography
Examples
- Most ships that tried to cross the Pacific in the past would get stuck in the gyres and never make it out.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To spin around; to gyrate, to whirl.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, literary, poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: revolve, rotate
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To make (something) spin or whirl around; to spin, to whirl.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: literary, poetic, rare, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: coil, whorl, roll, curl, curlicue, ringlet, scroll
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: round shape
Narrower terms: corolla, calyx, verticil
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin gȳrus (“circle; circular motion”), from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “circle; ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend; to curve”). The English word is a doublet of gyro and gyrus.
From Late Middle English giren (“to turn (something) away; to cause (something) to revolve or rotate; to travel in a circle”), from Old French girer (“to turn”), and directly from its etymon Latin gȳrāre, the present active infinitive of gȳrō (“to turn in a circle, rotate; to circle or revolve around”), from gȳrus (“circle; circular motion”) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
Across languages
Translations
24 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: вихър (vihǎr) — swirling vortex
- Bulgarian: водовъртеж (vodovǎrtež) — swirling vortex
- Finnish: pyörre — swirling vortex
- German: Strudel — swirling vortex
- Māori: kōripo — swirling vortex
- Portuguese: remoinho — swirling vortex
- Romanian: vârtej — swirling vortex
- Russian: вихрь (vixrʹ) — swirling vortex
- Spanish: remolino — swirling vortex
- Bulgarian: кръговрат (krǎgovrat) — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Catalan: gir — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Catalan: gir oceànic — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Chinese Mandarin: 環流 /环流 (huánliú) — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Finnish: pyörre — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- French: gyre — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- French: gyre océanique — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- German: ozeanischer Wirbel — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- German: Wirbel — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Māori: kōripo — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Portuguese: giro — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Portuguese: remoinho — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Portuguese: turbilhão — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Spanish: giro — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner
- Spanish: giro oceánico — ocean current caused by wind which moves in a circular manner