WHIRLIGIG

carousel, carrousel, merry-go-round, roundabout, whirligig

(noun) a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement

top, whirligig, teetotum, spinning top

(noun) a conical child’s plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin; “he got a bright red top and string for his birthday”

whirligig

(verb) whirl or spin like a whirligig

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

whirligig (plural whirligigs)

Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top or a merry-go-round.

A device incorporating spinning, wind-driven propellers or pinwheels, used as whimsical outdoor decoration in a garden or on a porch.

A whirligig beetle.

A device for punishing prisoners, comprising a wooden cage that rapidly spins around.

Source: Wiktionary

Whirl"i*gig, n. Etym: [Whirl + gig.]

1. A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top. Johnson.

2. Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses. With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning about each head. G. W. Cable.

3. A mediæval instrument for punishing petty offenders, being a kind of wooden cage turning on a pivot, in which the offender was whirled round with great velocity.

4. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of beetles belonging to Gyrinus and allied genera. The body is firm, oval or boatlike in form, and usually dark colored with a bronzelike luster. These beetles live mostly on the surface of water, and move about with great celerity in a gyrating, or circular, manner, but they are also able to dive and swim rapidly. The larva is aquatic. Called also weaver, whirlwig, and whirlwig beetle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

WHIRLIGIG

Etymology

Noun

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