To save this word, you'll need to log in. Maelstrom comes from an early Dutch proper noun that literally meant "turning stream. The word became popularized in the general vocabulary of English in reference to a powerful whirlpool, or something akin to one, in the 19th century. This was partly due to its use by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne whose writing was widely translated from French in stories exaggerating the tempestuousness of the Norwegian current and transforming it into a whirling vortex. Examples of maelstrom in a Sentence She was caught in a maelstrom of emotions. The ship was drawn into the maelstrom. Recent Examples on the Web In short, recent years have been a dark maelstrom , a Hieronymus Bosch hellscape, in which, under the guise of the pursuit of pleasure, individuals are tortured, dehumanized, discarded, destroyed. Betsy DeVos made it political. Send us feedback. Sign Up Dictionary Entries near maelstrom Maecenasship Maecenatism maegbote maelstrom Maelzel's metronome maen maenad.


Navigation menu
About This Game
Maelstrom , Norwegian Moskenstraumen or Moskstraumen , marine channel and strong tidal current of the Norwegian Sea , in the Lofoten islands, northern Norway. About 5 miles 8 km wide, alternating in flow between the open sea on the west and Vest Fjord on the east, the current may reach a speed of 7 miles 11 km per hour with the changing of the tides, but the sea becomes calm in the moments when the tide switches direction. Strong local winds make the passage additionally dangerous. The word maelstrom entered the English language via the fiction of the French novelist Jules Verne and the American short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe , who exaggerated the current of the channel into a great whirlpool; the word in English designates a large, fatal whirlpool , engulfing vessels and men, or a figurative application of the idea. Article Media. Info Print Cite.
Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes
Add maelstrom to one of your lists below, or create a new one. Improve your vocabulary with English Vocabulary in Use from Cambridge. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence. Driven or bone idle? Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as not interested. Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow. You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam. Sign in. Home Discussions Workshop Market Broadcasts. Change language. Install Steam. Your Store.