Monday Word: Tourbillon

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

tourbillion

[toor-bil-yuhn; toor-bee--yawn]

noun

1. whirlwind sense
2. a vortex especially of a whirlwind or whirlpool
3. watch mechanism: A mechanism in a watch that rotates the balance wheel, balance spring, and escapement to reduce the effects of gravity on the watch's movement. The rotating cage that holds these parts rotates at a rate of about one revolution per minute. The tourbillon was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented in 1801. Tourbillons are often displayed on the face of modern wristwatches.
4. firework: a sky rocket with a spiral flight

example

1.
The watch is also the first edition to feature a double-hairspring tourbillion movement in a Streamliner case. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2022
2. I have known before what it is to be in what our neighbours have called a tourbillon, but never on such a scale as this. --Tales of Terror and Mystery Arthur Conan Doyle 1894

origin
Anglo-French turbeillun, from Latin turbin-, turbo top, whirlwind, whirl, from turba confusion