whirligig

• a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement
• a conical child´s plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin
• whirl or spin like a whirligig
• A child´s toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top
• Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses
• 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
• 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

Report error with a word Suggest a new definition

You can also check definition for whirligig on wikipedia or google (link opens in new window)