tour·bil·lion

(to͝or-bĭl′yən)

a. A whirlwind.

b. A vortex, as of a whirlwind or whirlpool.

2. A skyrocket that has a spiral flight.

[Middle English turbilloun, from Old French torbeillon, ultimately from Latin turbō, from Greek turbē, noise, confusion; see turbid.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tourbillion

(tʊəˈbɪljən)

(Physical Geography) a rare word for whirlwind

[C15: from French tourbillon, ultimately from Latin turbō something that spins, from turbāre to confuse]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tour•bil•lion

(tʊərˈbɪl yən)

n.

1. a whirlwind.

2. a firework that rises spirally.

[1470–80; earlier turbilloun < Middle French to(u)rbillon < Vulgar Latin *turbiliōnem, dissimilated variant of *turbiniōnem, acc. of *turbiniō whirlwind]

References in periodicals archive

Occasionally Oliver works with watchmakers and artisans to make one of a kind, one of one watches - the first being the Kryptonite X Tourbillion watch.

Oliver Gallaugher is Designing Original Watches For New and Established Brands

The client's daughter fills Owen in on the plot, but the pull of building a tourbillion of such power is too much for Owen to resist; by the time he arrives home, future worlds have already begun to bleed into his present.

The Silver Wind

The 47-year-old has spent years perfecting her home which is full of stunning art and eye-catching features, including French-inspired Farrow and Ball Tourbillion wallpaper.

Woman invites Instagram fans into huge home - to take away ANYTHING they like; Claire Johnston, 47, from Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, runs I Am Nomad and is inviting members of the public to 'discover and purchase my favourite things in the intimate setting of my home'

Other collections at the pavilion consisted of reinterpretation of a masterpiece called Datograph Perpetual Tourbillion. The unique combination of a flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar with moonphases, a tourbillon with stop seconds, and a power-reserve indicator by A Lange & SE[micro]hne presented itself in white gold for the first time, in this edition with a pink gold dial.

A Lange & Sohne showcases its iconic timepieces at DJWE

The tourbillion bridge appears as a moustache above a gentle grimace, and the perpetual calendar counters are sunny eyes.

L.U.C PERPETUAL T SPIRIT OF 'LA SANTA MUERTE'

drives the tourbillion at six o'clock and the 30-minute chronograph at three o'clock.

AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE TOURBILLON CHRONOGRAPH

Viewing the tourbillion mechanism through the sapphire glass lens resembles gazing into the gorgeous vista of the galaxy.

World's Largest Watch & Clock Fair Opens

Other than the novelties, Franck Muller also brought exceptional pieces, particularly the world's fastest tourbillion, dubbed as 'The Thunderbolt'.

'Qatar's market fancies high-value timepieces'

Kinget pulls up his left sleeve to reveal an even more gasp-inducing platinum Geophysic Tourbillion World Time watch.

The romance, intricate technology-and memorable moment-behind a timepiece

And for those who really want to make a statement, an optional Breitling Mulliner Tourbillion clock can be spec'd for about $170,000.

Bentley's first SUV lives up to advanced billing: long before its introduction this summer, the 2017 Bentley Bentayga was hailed as the fastest, most technically advanced and, of course, most well-refned and luxurious SUV ever

And, with rare exceptions, Hell's darkest hues are compounded out of individually bright washes of red, yellow, and, above all, blue --from the tourbillion of the lustful souls in Canto V, to the sprung body of the giant Antaeus setting Dante down in the circle of the traitors.

Watery deeps: William Blake drew out the poetic nuances of Dante's Commedia in masterfully handled watercolour