An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/zwirbeln

by Friedrich Kluge

zwirbeln, vb., ‘to twirl,’ from MidHG. zwirbeln, zwirben, ‘to move in a circle, whirl’ (zwirbel, m., ‘in circular motion,’ zwirbelwint, ‘whirlwind’), Allied to OHG. zęrben (*zarbjan), ‘to turn round,’ AS. tearflian, ‘to roll’?. Undoubted cognates in the non-Teut. languages are wanting.