Etymology

tourbillon

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Today it means: A rotating frame, containing the escapement of a clock or watch, that significantly compensates for the effects of gravity. Full definition →

French tourbillon ← Old French torbeil
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The story

  1. Old Frenchtorbeil
  2. Frenchtourbillon
  3. English todaytourbillon

Borrowed from French tourbillon (“whirlwind”).

Words from the same roots

Frenchtourbillon all →

turbillion

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.