whirligig : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: whirligig	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for whirligig
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
whirligig n 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" Synonym(s): top, whirligig, teetotum, spinning top a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement Synonym(s): carousel, carrousel, merry-go-round, roundabout, whirligig v whirl or spin like a whirligig
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Whirligig \Whirl"igig\, n. [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 medi[91]val 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. (Zo[94]l.) 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}.