| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| maelstrom |
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| SYLLABICATION: | mael·strom |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  m l str m |
| NOUN: | 1. A violent or turbulent situation: caught in the maelstrom of war. 2. A whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Obsolete Dutch : Dutch malen, to grind, whirl (from Middle Dutch; see mel- in Appendix I) + Dutch stroom, stream (from Middle Dutch; see sreu- 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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