A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420, 1513
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Swirl, n. Also: swyrl(l, sworl(l. [Swirl v.] a. An eddy, whirlpool; ? stream. b. An eddy or coil of flame. —a. c1420 Wynt. iv 261 (W).
Than gert he draw that ryvere all In foure hundreth and sexty small Narow swyrlis [C. swyrllis] throu landis braid 1513 Doug. iii viii 113.
The swelland swyrl [Sm. swirl; L. curvato gurgite] vphesyt ws til hevyn; Syne wald the waw swak ws doun ful evyn 1513 Doug. ix iii 66.
Be Stix the flude … Be that ilk pykky laik, with brays blak And laithly sworlys [L. atraque voragine] —b. 1513 Doug. xii xi 125.
Lo, a sworll of fyre blesys vpthraw [L. undabat vertex]
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"Swirl n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/swirl_n>
