Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Whirligig
Whirl′i-gig
,Noun.
[
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 mediaeval 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.
(Zool.)
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
. Webster 1828 Edition
Whirligig
WHIRLIGIG
,Noun.
1.
A toy which children spin or whirl round.2.
In military antiquities, an instrument for punishing petty offenders, as sutlers, brawling women, &c.; a kind of wooden cage turning on a pivot, in which the offender was whirled round with great velocity.Definition 2024
whirligig
whirligig
English
Noun
whirligig (plural whirligigs)
- Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top.
- A whirligig beetle.
- A device for punishing prisoners comprising a wooden cage that rapidly spins around.
Translations
anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy
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Quotations
- 1600–1, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
- And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.