English
maelstrom
Maelstrom comes from Dutch maelstrom ‘whirlpool’, from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to crush, grind’, and ultimately from *srew- ‘to flow, stream’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-1‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1‘to crush, grind’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Dutchc. 1500–presentmalen1‘to whirl around’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentmaelstrom1‘whirlpool’
- Englishearliest quotation 1831maelstrom1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English maelstrom
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Thomas Carlyle, Characteristics: “It was of Jean Paul's doing: some single billow…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-Wiktionary, English maelstrom‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, English maelstrom‘to crush, grind’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Dutchc. 1500–presentmalenWiktionary, English maelstrom‘to whirl around’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentmaelstromWiktionary, English maelstrom‘whirlpool’
- Englishearliest quotation 1831maelstromWiktionary, English maelstrom. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1831, Thomas Carlyle, Characteristics: “It was of Jean Paul's doing: some single billow…”
The story
The word was originally the name of a giant whirlpool off Norway in the Arctic Ocean which was said to destroy all ships that came close to it, likely the actual tidal pool system of Moskstraumen in Lofoten. It is borrowed from early modern Dutch maelstrom (‘whirlpool’) (obsolete) (modern Dutch maalstroom), from malen (‘to whirl around; to grind’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (‘to crush, grind’)) + stroom (‘stream; river; current or flow of water or other liquid’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (‘to flow, stream’)), and was popularized by Edgar Allen Poe’s short story A Descent into the Maelström (1841).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow, stream’
stream, rhythm, rheumatism, rheumatic, rheumatology, hemorrhoid, rheology, 43 more
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to crush, grind’
miller, meal, mill, mild, mold, mole, mould, mule, muller, camo, bonanza, molar, mullet, mull, melatonin, moulin, amalgam, malleable, moline, martel, amyl, malm, 39 more
Today it means
noun A large and violent whirlpool.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “maelstrom”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *srew- / maelstrom