maelstrom /ˈmeɪl.stɹəm/ noun2 •A large and violent whirlpool.To his right fell a gleaming sheet of water, and below it was a maelstrom, that made one giddy by its terrific gyrations. — 1905 •(figurative) A chaotic or turbulent situation.It was of Jean Paul's doing: some single billow in that vast World-Mahlstrom of Humour, with its heaven-kissing coruscations, which is now, alas, all congealed in the frost of death! — 1831 formsmaelstroms
