The story
- Old English · inherited fromhwierfepōl“whirlpool”
- Old English · inherited fromhwierfel“whirlpool”
- Middle English · inherited from*whirlpole
- English todaywhirlpool
From earlier whirlpoole, whirlpole, apparently from Middle English *whirlpole, potentially coalescing Old English hwierfel (“whirlpool”) and Old English hwierfepōl (“whirlpool”). Equivalent to whirl + pool. Cognate with Scots quhirlepole, whirle-pule (“whirlpool”). Compare also English whirlpit. Eclipsed non-native Middle English gurges (“whirlpool”), borrowed from Latin gurges (“whirlpool”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.