Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various spinning toys.
  • noun A carousel; a merry-go-round.
  • noun Something that continuously whirls.
  • noun A whirligig beetle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any toy or trivial object to which a rapid whirling motion is imparted.
  • noun A toy which children spin in the hand by means of string.
  • noun A carrousel or merry-go-round.
  • noun A toy resembling a miniature windmill, which children cause to spin or whirl round by moving it through the air.
  • noun Hence, anything that revolves or spins like a whirligig; also, spinning rotation; revolving or recurring course.
  • noun In milit. antiq., an instrument for punishing petty offenders, as a kind of wooden cage turning on a pivot, in which the offender was whirled round with great velocity.
  • noun In entomology, any one of numerous species of water-beetles of the family Gyrinidæ, as Gyrinus natator, usually seen in large numbers on the surface of the water, circling rapidly about, and diving only to escape danger.
  • Whirling.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top.
  • noun Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses.
  • noun 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.
  • noun (Zoöl.) 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.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top.
  • noun A whirligig beetle.
  • noun A device for punishing prisoners comprising a wooden cage that rapidly spins around.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb whirl or spin like a whirligig
  • noun a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin
  • noun a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English whirlegigge : whirlen, whirl; see whirl + -gigge, something that rotates (possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to gig).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English whirlegigge.

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Examples

  • To repeat: Solar wind particles flow along the ropes in whirligig trajectories leading from the sun to Earth.

    Aurora Bibliothèque 2008

  • Solar wind particles flow along the ropes in whirligig trajectories leading from the sun to Earth.

    Aurora Bibliothèque 2008

  • He thought all the evening; or rather thought and fancy took a kind of whirligig dance, where it was hard to tell which was which.

    The Hills of the Shatemuc 1856

  • He thought all the evening; or rather thought and fancy took a kind of whirligig dance, where it was hard to tell which was which.

    Hills of the Shatemuc Susan Warner 1852

  • For those who do not know and may think that a "whirligig" is some sort of child's toy, it is actually an object that spins, turns or has at least one moving part to indicate wind direction -- much like a weather vane.

    ScrippsNews 2009

  • You also do not need a "whirligig," or other device, to deliver the water to your grain bed.

    FriendFeed - georgeh 2009

  • Ms. Li's sound laces rock with electronic energy and a nattering sense of whirligig rhythm, and her voice alternates between coy coos and throaty bellows that promise to tart up the night sky over Central Park.

    Wing It Out Loud Around Town Andy Battaglia 2011

  • When speech fails – and the speech here is sometimes meagre, sometimes over-emphatic and quite often oddly accented – a whirligig of activity takes over.

    Decade; The Tempest; The Kitchen; Parade – review 2011

  • It would seem the whirligig of time does not, alas, bring its revenges.

    Vicky Ward: The Whirligig of Time Fails to Bring Its Revenges Vicky Ward 2011

  • The Ferris wheel fell over onto its side with a rending crash, the chains holding the swings to the whirligig snapped, and the carousel horses grew old and gray and withered like overripe fruit on their poles.

    Slice Of Cherry Dia Reeves 2011

Comments

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  • The wagon was hustling him along and his legs were going crazy. Then he was lifted into the air by the shafts, with his feet churning round like a whirligig.

    - William Steig, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride

    September 29, 2008

  • and the band played on a merry-go-round

    June 27, 2009