World and whirled are two words that are pronounced in the same fashion but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the definitions of world and whirled, where these two words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
Most often, world is used to mean Earth, the planet we live on and all the people on it. However, world may refer to any planet. World may also be used figuratively to mean a specific sphere of life or activity, a specific culture or epoch of history. World is also used to mean secular matters rather than religious or spiritual matters. The word world is derived from the Old English word woruld, which means the age of man.
Whirled is the past tense of whirl, which means a quick movement going round and round or a flurry of activity, to move quickly or to frantically participate in an activity. Whirl is used as a noun or a verb, related words are whirls, whirl, whirling, whirler. The word whirl is derived from the Old Norse word hvirfla which means to turn about.
Examples
“When moments like the World Cup come around and the world truly shares in an event, especially through social media, it’s just wild to me.” (The Guardian)
While her friends played with Barbies and other dolls, Dang’s world was filled with robots, LEGOs and science experiments. (The Mercury News)
Berrios reached across his body to snare Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s comebacker and whirled to throw to second, starting the inning-ending double play in the seventh. (The Daily Globe)
“I heard there was a shooting Thursday, a stabbing Friday night and then that shooting Saturday,” the woman said while her daughter whirled and squealed. (The Galesburg Register-Mail)
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