| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| vortex |
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| SYLLABICATION: | vor·tex |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  vôr t ks |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. vor·tex·es or vor·ti·ces (-t -s z)
1. A spiral motion of fluid within a limited area, especially a whirling mass of water or air that sucks everything near it toward its center. 2. A place or situation regarded as drawing into its center all that surrounds it: “As happened with so many theater actors, he was swept up in the vortex of Hollywood” (New York Times). | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin vortex, vortic-, variant of vertex, from vertere, to turn. See wer-2 in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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