eddy C2+ Topic:Food & Drink US /ˈɛdi/ UK /ˈɛdi/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like ad /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Meanings 1 noun a circular movement of water or air running contrary to the main current Leaves spun in a small eddy at the river's edge. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a circular movement of... whirlpoolvortexswirlwhirlcountercurrent Word family Derived forms eddying Etymology AI details Of uncertain origin, probably from a Northern Middle English or Old Norse source; compare Old Norse iða ('eddy, whirlpool') and the prefix ed- ('again, back'). iða Old Norse View etymology graph -> Topics Food & Drink Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # eddy **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈɛdi/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɛdi/ ## Meanings 1. a circular movement of water or air running contrary to the main current ## Examples - Leaves spun in a small eddy at the river's edge. ## Synonyms - whirlpool - vortex - swirl - whirl - countercurrent ## Derived Forms - eddying ## Roots and Affixes - Root: iða ## Etymology Of uncertain origin, probably from a Northern Middle English or Old Norse source; compare Old Norse iða ('eddy, whirlpool') and the prefix ed- ('again, back'). ## AI Etymology Eddy is of uncertain origin, probably from a Northern Middle English or Old Norse source; compare Old Norse iða ('eddy, whirlpool') and the prefix ed- ('again, back'). The immediate etymological form is Old Norse iða. In present use as noun and verb, it means "a circular movement of water or air running contrary to the main current", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Because the origin is uncertain, the safest account is descriptive: the attested senses can be explained, but the ultimate formation remains unresolved. Derived forms include eddying. ## Topics - Food & Drink - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown