Vortex

How to spell vortex

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce vortex

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does vortex mean?

1. nounA whirling mass of fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind that draws things toward its centre.

Vortex in a sentence

• The draining bathwater spun into a small vortex above the plughole.

• Pilots are trained to avoid the vortex of turbulent air behind a large aircraft.

Where does vortex come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes directly from the Latin vortex, a variant of vertex, both formed on the verb vertere, which meant 'to turn' or 'to whirl'. In Latin a vortex was literally a whirling mass of water, an eddy, or a spinning column of air, the sense English still carries today. English adopted the word in the early 1600s, keeping the Latin spelling intact, which is why it ends in the slightly unusual -ex rather than a more English-looking ending. The same vertere root spins through a whole family of relatives, including 'convert', 'reverse', and 'versus', all of which involve some kind of turning. The plural can follow either Latin (vortices) or English (vortexes), a small reminder of the word's classical roots.

How the word is built

• vort- (from Latin vertere: to turn)
• -ex (Latin noun ending)