WHIRLIGIGS

Noun

whirligigs

plural of whirligig

Source: Wiktionary


WHIRLIGIG

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



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Word of the Day

20 April 2024

MULTIPHASE

(adjective) of an electrical system that uses or generates two or more alternating voltages of the same frequency but differing in phase angle


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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