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whirligigmore about whirligig

whirligig

 

  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Whirligig  \Whirl"i*gig\,  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[ae]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["o]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}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  whirligig 
  n  1:  a  conical  child's  toy  tapering  to  a  steel-shod  point  on 
  which  it  can  be  made  to  spin;  "he  got  a  bright  red  top 
  and  string  for  his  birthday"  [syn:  {top},  {teetotum},  {spinning 
  top}] 
  2:  large  mechanical  apparatus  with  seats  for  children  to  ride 
  on  [syn:  {carousel},  {merry-go-round},  {roundabout}] 
  v  :  whirl  or  spin  like  a  whirligig




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