In a state of whirling or spinning rapidly; rotating with speed and motion.
From 'a-' plus 'whirl.' The word 'whirl' comes from Old Norse 'hvirfla.' Combined with the prefix, it creates the sense of active, continuous spinning motion.
Words like 'awhirl' are almost poetic—they're rarely used in modern speech, but they appear in literature to create vivid, dynamic descriptions of motion. Shakespeare and earlier writers loved these 'a-' constructions!
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