Definition of whirligig

• n. - A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top.
• n. - Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses.
• n. - 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.
• n. - 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.