whirligig

Meaning

1. Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top or a merry-go-round.
2. A device incorporating spinning, wind-driven propellers or pinwheels, used as whimsical outdoor decoration in a garden or on a porch.
3. A whirligig beetle.
4. A device for punishing prisoners, comprising a wooden cage that rapidly spins around to induce nausea.

Synonyms

spinning top

merry-go-round

roundabout

top

🔝

carousel

teetotum

carrousel

mullet

reel

roll

rotation

spinning wheel

vicissitude

vicissitudes

vortical

whirling

merry-goround

ginning machine

circumvolution

gig

gyration

gyro

gyroscopic

mill

Translations

toupie

🔝

Kreisel

🔝

peonza

tol

🔝

manège

chenille

🐛

draaimolen

carrousel

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɜː.lɪ.ɡɪɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: whirlegigge

In summary

From Middle English whirlegigge; equivalent to whirl (noun or verb) + gig (“a top”).