[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

vortex \vor"tex\, n.; pl. e. vortexes, l. vortices. l.
   vortex, vertex, -icis, fr. vortere, vertere, to turn. see
   vertex.
   1913 webster
   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.
      1913 webster

   2. cartesian system 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.
      1913 webster

   3. zool. any one of numerous species of small turbellaria
      belonging to vortex and allied genera. see illustration
      in appendix.
      1913 webster

   vortex atom chem., a hypothetical ring-shaped mass of
      elementary matter in continuous vortical motion. it was
      conveniently regarded in certain early mathematical models
      as the typical form and structure of the chemical atom,
      but is no longer considered a useful model, having been
      superseded by quantum mechanics.

   vortex wheel, a kind of turbine.
      1913 webster +pjc
see also:
vortexes vortices vertex vortex vortex atom vortex wheel 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

vortex
     n 1: the shape of something rotating rapidly syn: whirl, swirl,
           convolution
     2: a powerful circular current of water usually the resulting
        of conflicting tides syn: whirlpool, maelstrom
     also: vortices pl
see also:
whirl swirl convolution whirlpool maelstrom vortices 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

108 moby thesaurus words for "vortex":
   charybdis, maelstrom, ado, agitation, back stream, backflow,
   backwash, backwater, bother, botheration, brouhaha, burst, bustle,
   cirrus, coil, commotion, condensation trail, contrail, corkscrew,
   countercurrent, counterflow, counterflux, curl, curlicue,
   disturbance, dizzy round, ebullience, ebullition, eddy,
   effervescence, embroilment, evolute, exhaust, feery-fary, ferment,
   fermentation, fidgetiness, fit, flap, flurry, fluster, flutter,
   flutteriness, fume, fuss, fussiness, gulf, gurge, gyre, helix,
   hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, hurry, hurry-scurry, involute,
   kink, maelstrom, pell-mell, perturbation, pirouette, pother,
   rat race, reel, refluence, reflux, regurgitation, restlessness,
   ringlet, roll, round, ruffle, scramble, screw, scroll, spasm, spin,
   spiral, spout, spurt, stew, stir, stream, surge, sweat, swirl,
   swirling, tendril, to-do, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, turn, twirl,
   twist, unquiet, uproar, vapor trail, volute, volution, wake, wash,
   wheel, whirl, whirlpool, whirlwind, whorl, yeastiness

[4] : Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002)

vortex
     varian omnitasking real time executive ??? os, varian
     
     

Vortex >> V Words
Vortex, definition of term: Vortex
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