轉出來的花紋
最貼近核心畫面的一組：線繞著中心往外走，留下看得見的紋路。
noun · C1
A pattern made by a line that curls round and round a centre, with each circle a little wider than the one before — the shape you see in a fingerprint, on a snail shell, or in stirred milk.
螺旋紋
核心畫面
Picture a line that starts at one point and keeps going round it, each loop sitting a little outside the last: a snail shell, a thumbprint, milk stirred into coffee. Every use of this word can be held in that one picture — sometimes the whole pattern, sometimes one ring of it, sometimes the thing that does the turning.
whorl 的畫面可以想成一條線從一個中心點出發，繞著它一圈一圈往外轉，每一圈都比上一圈大一點。蝸牛殼是這樣。指紋是…更多收起
whorl 的畫面可以想成一條線從一個中心點出發，繞著它一圈一圈往外轉，每一圈都比上一圈大一點。蝸牛殼是這樣。指紋是這樣。奶精被湯匙攪進咖啡也是這樣。這個字的每一種用法，都可以放進這一個畫面裡：有時候講的是整片紋路，有時候是其中的一圈，有時候是那個負責轉的零件。From the word’s history
The word is a changed spelling of whirl, the verb for turning fast — so a turning movement sits inside the word, and every sense is something that turns or the mark that turning leaves.
字源資料說 whorl 是 whirl（旋轉）變出來的寫法。可以想成：這個字裡本來就裝著一個「轉」的動作。後來它被用來指轉出來的痕跡，也被用來指會轉的零件。所以不管是花紋、是圈數、還是紡輪，底下都是同一個轉字。
Wiktionary entries supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1253916714 and :1253945643), etymology_text: "From alteration of whirl (verb)."
Three branches
活的東西排成一圈
一樣是繞著中心的一圈，只是中心換成莖，圈圈換成活的葉子或花。
noun · C2
In plant science: a ring of three or more leaves, flowers or similar parts that all grow out of the same point on a stem.
輪生（一圈葉子或花）
負責轉的那個圓盤
這一支不是紋路，而是動作本身：紡輪的工作就是轉，正好對上 whorl 來自 whirl 的那條線索。
noun · C2
A small round weight fitted onto a spindle, which keeps the spindle turning smoothly while thread is spun by hand.
紡輪（紡錘上的圓盤）