whirligign.
/ˈwəːlɪɡɪɡ/, U.S. /ˈ(h)wərliˌɡɪɡ/ 1.
a. Name of various toys that are whirled, twirled, or spun round; spec. †(a) a top or teetotum (cf. gig n.1 1); (b) a toy consisting of a small spindle turned by means of a string; (c) a toy with four arms like miniature windmill-sails, which whirl round when it is moved through the air.
ΘΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > top > [noun]
top13..
spilquernc1375
prill1440
spilcockc1440
whirligigc1440
nun1585
nun-gig1615
Roaring Meg1632
totum1706
teetotum1720
spinner1799
spinning-top1821
jenny-spinner1824
diabolo1905
dreidel1916
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > other toys > [noun] > windmill
windmill1557
whirl-jack1653
whirligig1659
pinwheel1869
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > other toys > [noun] > others
spurc1450
cock1608
turnel1621
corala1625
house of cardsa1625
Jack-in-the-box1659
(Prince) Rupert's Drops1662
sucker1681
whirligig1686
playbook1694
card house1733
snapper1788
card castle1792
Aaron's bells?1795
Noah's Ark1807
Jacob's ladder1820
cat-stairs1825
daisy chain1841
beanbag1861
playboat1865
piñata1868
teething ring1872
weet-weet1878
tumble-over1883
water cracker1887
jumping-bean1889
play money1894
serpentin1894
comforter1898
pacifier1901
dummy1903
bubble water1904
yo-yo1915
paper airplane1921
snowstorm1926
titty1927
teaser1935
Slinky1948
teether1949
Mr Potato Head1952
squeeze toy1954
Frisbee1957
mobile1957
chew toy1959
water-rocket1961
Crazy Foam1965
playshop1967
war toy1973
waterball1974
pull-along1976
transformer1984
Aerobie1985
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 525/1 Whyrlegyge, chyldys game, giraculum.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 288/2 Whirlygigge to play with, pyrouette.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 81 But (as a turning Whirlie-gigge goes round [Fr. Comme la pirouette animee se tourne].
1659 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. & Geogr. v. 148 The Gnomon must appear on both sides like the stick in a Whirli~gig, which children use.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation ii. 148 Pulling the Line you may make the Looking-Glass play in and out as Children do a Whirlegig... Keep it turning that the twinkling of the Glass against the Sun may provoke the Larks to come to view it.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant iii. 43 The Pummel [of the sword]..is neither Round nor Oval, but is flat above and below like a Whirligigg.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 49 As..whirligigs, twirl'd round by skilful swain, Suck the thread in, then yield it out again.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. iv. §6. 288 The peg-top..probably originated from the te-totums and whirligigs.
1811 Sporting Mag. 38 220 They hold each other tight by the middle, and so go round like whirligigs.
1908 E. Fowler Between Trent & Ancholme 77 A..figure of The Christ-Child playing with a ‘Whirligig’.
b. figurative. ‘Plaything’, ‘sport’.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe
foola1382
woodcockc1430
geckc1530
cousinc1555
cokes1567
milch cow1582
gudgeon1584
coney1591
martin1591
gull1594
plover1599
rook1600
gull-finch1604
cheatee1615
goata1616
whirligig1624
chouse1649
coll1657
cully1664
bubble1668
lamb1668
Simple Simon?1673
mouth1680
dupe1681
cull1698
bub1699
game1699
muggins1705
colour1707
milk cow1727
flat1762
gulpin1802
slob1810
gaggee1819
sucker1838
hoaxee1840
softie1850
foozle1860
lemon1863
juggins1882
yob1886
patsy1889
yapc1894
fall guy1895
fruit1895
meemaw1895
easy mark1896
lobster1896
mark1896
wise guy1896
come-on1897
pushover1907
John1908
schnookle1908
Gretchen1913
jug1914
schnook1920
soft touch1924
prospect1931
steamer1932
punter1934
dill1941
Joe Soap1943
possum1945
Moreton Bay1953
easy touch1959
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. ii. i. i. 356 Thou art Cupids whirlegigge.
a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1683) II. 12 Turning him into..a whirlegig of fate or chance.
2. Applied to various mechanical contrivances having a whirling or rotatory movement; spec. †(a) an instrument of punishment formerly used, consisting of a large cage suspended so as to turn on a pivot; (b) a roundabout or merry-go-round.In quot. 1601 ? = gig n.1 2; in quot. 1623 ? allusively applied to a carriage; in quot. 1822 to a clock.
ΘΠ
society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [noun] > whirligig
whirligig1477
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > fairground ride > merry-go-round
carousel1673
whimsic chair?c1684
whimsy1684
merry-go-round1729
roundabout1763
turnabout1789
whirligig1816
spin-'em-round1851
go-round1857
whirly-go-round1865
merry-go-around1873
giddy-go-round1879
go-around1888
razzle-dazzle1890
joy-wheel1911
chairoplane1922
whip1925
Noah's Ark1945
waltzer1961
swirl1962
1477–8 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 22 Pro vna pecia maeremii de nouo empto pro le ‘Whirlegigg’.
1477–8 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 23 For a pece of Tymber to the Whirlegogge.
1554 in Sir W. Parker Hist. Long Melford (1873) 365 Payde to Newman for mending of Hall Myll Bridge, and makyng of a worlegyg, 22d.
1601 J. Deacon & J. Walker Dialogicall Disc. Spirits & Diuels 230 The silie poore birdes sit prying at, and playing with the whirligig. [Cf. quot. 1686 at sense 1a.]
1617 J. Taylor Three Weekes Obseruations E 2 It is hanged on a turning Gybbet, like a Crane:..It is bigge enough to hold two men, and..if any one or more doe rob gardens..he or they are put into this same whirligigge, or kickumbob, and the gybbet being turned, the offender hangs in this Cage..some 12 or 14 foot from the water,..and with a tricke..the bottome of the cage drops out, and the thiefe fals sodenly into the water.
1623 J. Taylor World runnes on Wheeles in Wks. (1630) ii. 238/2 The last Proclamations concerning the retiring of the Gentry out of the City into their Countries..how it cleered the Streetes of these way~stopping Whirligigges!
1788 F. Grose Mil. Antiq. II. 204 One [punishment] formerly very common, for trifling offences,..was the whirligig;..a kind of circular wooden cage, which turn'd on a pivot; and..whirled round with such an amazing velocity, that the delinquent became extremely sick.
1816 E. Weeton Let. 22 May in Jrnl. of Governess (1969) II. 145 Large caravans enter the town with..wooden horses, whirligigs, gambling tables, barrel organs.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. v. 113 Yonder..hall-clock at Theobald's, and that other whirligig that you made for the Duke of Buckingham.
1839–41 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 71 In the outskirts of the cemeteries, swings and whirligigs are erected.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. ii. viii. 132 One of those rotatory entertainments commonly seen in fairs, and known by the name of ‘whirligigs’ or ‘roundabouts’.
3.
a. gen. and figurative, in various applications: (a) Something that is continually whirling, or in constant movement or activity of any kind; †(b) a fantastic notion, a crotchet (obsolete); (c) circling course, revolution (of time or events); (d) a lively or irregular proceeding, an antic; (e) a circling movement, or condition figured as such, a whirl.
ΘΠ
the world > time > period > cycle of time > [noun] > cyclic condition
revolving?a1425
whirligig1589
cyclicism1857
society > leisure > entertainment > frolicking or romping > [noun] > a frolic
oliprancec1390
ragerya1393
vague1523
rex1566
friskin1570
gambol1573
reak1573
prank1576
vagary1588
whirligig1589
caper1592
prinkum-prankum1596
firk1611
frolica1635
carryings-on1663
ramp1696
romp1713
freak1724
scheme1758
rig1782
lark1811
escapade1814
gammock1819
gambade1821
enfantillage1827
game1828
shines1830
rollick1834
rusty1835
high jinksa1845
escapado1849
shenanigan1855
rum-tum1876
panta1901
gas1914
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > whirling > an act of
whirl?a1505
reel?1572
swinge1583
whirligig1589
wirble1848
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim
fantasya1450
wantonness1531
humour1533
worm?a1534
will1542
toy?1545
whey-worm1548
wild worm1548
freak1563
crotchet1573
fancy1579
whim-wham1580
whirligig1589
caper1592
megrim1593
spleen1594
kicksey-winsey1599
fegary1600
humorousness1604
curiosity1605
conundrum1607
whimsy1607
windmill1612
buzza1616
capriccioa1616
quirka1616
flama1625
maggota1625
fantasticality1631
capruch1634
gimcrack1639
whimseycado1654
caprich1656
excursion1662
frisk1665
caprice1673
fita1680
grub1681
fantasque1697
whim1697
frolic1711
flight1717
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
maddock1787
kink1803
fizgig1824
fad1834
whimmery1837
fantod1839
brain crack1853
whimsy-whamsy1871
tic1896
tick1900
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > whirling > that which
whirla1547
whirligig1704
whirl-about1863
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Bivv Euery one that had a whirlegig in his braine, wold haue his own conceit to goe currant.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 25 Quot capita tot sententiæ, so many heades so many whirlegigs.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 373 And thus the whirlegigge of time, brings in his reuenges. View more context for this quotation
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 11 The heathen gods and goddesses, with all their whirligiggs.
1640 J. Shirley Coronation iii. sig. E2 Phi. Tis a strange turne. Phi. [= Lisa.] The whirligigs of women.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck (at cited word) Loteren, He hath a Whirlegigg in his head.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. ii. 73 His braines..being as vertiginous as a whirle-poole, presented ten thousand whirlygigs, Windmils, and Turne-pikes to his errantick soule.
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 181 The Whirly-Gig of the Dispensation, which run round from Pope to Pope, and never could be said to settle.
1704 M. Prior Ladle 6 Since They [sc. the gods] gave Things their Beginning; And set this Whirligig a Spinning.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1781 II. 378 Johnson: She is the first woman in the world could she but restrain that wicked tongue of hers..could she but command that little whirligig.
1796 F. Burney Camilla IV. vii. xiii. 204 You'll put my poor head quite into a whirligig.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. xvi. 216 This ridiculous baboon..got back again to his old tricks and whirligigs.
1862 Huxley in Life (1900) I. xv. 198 I was..glad to get your letter at that whirligig of an association meeting.
1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. ix. 186 The whirligig of events restored Francesco Sforza to his duchy.
1897 G. Allen Type-writer Girl xviii Water~beetles who dart and dance..in interlacing whirligigs.
1911 R. R. Marett Anthropol. vii. 186 When the whirligig of social change brings the uneducated temporarily to the fore.
b. A fickle, inconstant, giddy, or flighty person (cf. gig n.1 4); also, one who turns round or moves about actively, as in a dance.
ΘΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > capricious persons or animals > capricious or whimsical person
butterflya1500
wild-brain1580
wild-head1583
humorista1586
wild goose1597
barmy-froth1598
whirligig1602
maggot-monger1607
maggot-patea1640
kickshaw1644
whimsy-pate1654
maggot1681
volatilityship1771
whimship1793
vagarist1888
Jack-o'-wisp1896
Hamlet1903
temperamentalist1924
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > whirling > one who
whirligig1711
whirler1832
1602 T. Dekker Satiro-mastix sig. L3 No, whirligig, one of his faithfull fighters.
1605 G. Chapman Al Fooles i. i. 281 To maintaine a wanton whirly-gig, Worth nothing more then she brings on her back.
a1704 T. Brown tr. Æneas Sylvius Lett. in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) ii. 80 Woman is the Whirly-Gig of Nature; she changes so often and swiftly.
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 67. ⁋9 An impudent young Dog..ran to his Partner [in a dance],..and whisked her round..; just as my Girl was going to be made a Whirligig, I ran in, seized on the Child, and carried her home.
1796 F. Burney Camilla I. ii. iii. 185 Knowing you to be such a merry little whirligig.
1822 T. Mitchell tr. Dicast turned Gentleman in tr. Aristophanes Comedies II. 317 Give way, and make room for their play,..We'll sit here..and mark how these whirligigs whisk it!
4. A water-beetle of the family Gyrinidæ, esp. the common species Gyrinus natator, found in large numbers circling rapidly over the surface of the water in ponds and ditches. Also whirligig beetle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Adephaga (carnivorous beetles) > Hydradephaga (aquatic) > member of family Gyrinidae (whirligig)
whirligig1713
cramp-spider1721
whirlwig1816
weaver1864
mellow bug1894
gyrinid1925
1713 J. Petiver Aquatilium Animalium Amboinæ Tab. iv Trochus Pyramidalis Indicus..Indian Whirligig.
1855 Poultry Chron. 3 378 The Gyrinidæ, or whirligig beetles.
1874 J. G. Wood Insects Abroad 69 The Gyrinidæ, or Whirligig Beetles, of foreign countries.. being scarcely larger than our familiar British species.
1877 F. P. Pascoe Zool. Classif. 110 Gyrinus (Whirlgig).
5. adv. Like a whirligig; with rapid circling movement.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [adverb] > with whirling movement
whirligig1598
whirlingly1812
a-whirl1883
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia iv. sig. D3 His head..Wherein ten thousand thoughts runne whirligigge.
1828 W. Scott Jrnl. 16 June (1941) 263 To dress my sails to every wind;..and spin round, whirlagig.
Compounds
attributive. Resembling a whirligig; characterized by a whirling movement (literal and figurative). See also 4.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [adjective] > whirling > characterized by whirling movement
whirligig1582
whirly1806
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iv. 85 With whirlygig eyesight Vp to the sky staring.
1614 S. Purchas Pilgrimage (ed. 2) iii. xiii. 307 Continuing their whirlegigg-deuotions with continuall turnings (fitly agreeing to so giddie and brainsicke a Religion).
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iv. xiii. 521/2 The memory of the heathen gods and Godesses, with all their whirligigg fancies.
1807 Salmagundi 14 Aug. 277 That intoxicating, inflammatory, and whirligig dance, the waltz.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. xiii. 286 The changes of this trumpery whirligig world.
1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg ii, in New Monthly Mag. 60 262 She finish'd off with a whirligig bout.
1879 Punch 31 May 256 The whirligig whims of the moment.
Derivatives
ˈwhirligig v. (intransitive) (also with it), to turn like a whirligig, to whirl or spin round.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > revolve or rotate [verb (intransitive)] > whirl
turnOE
whirlc1384
hurlc1400
reelc1400
whirligig1687
vertiginate1814
wirble1848
1687 A. Lovell tr. C. de Bergerac Comical Hist. 57 These..have been constrained to whirlegig it.
1872 ‘Aliph Cheem’ Lays of Ind (1876) 6 The dancers..postured, bobbed, whirligigged, wriggled.
whirligigging adj.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [adjective] > whirling
whirling1382
whirligigging1598
burling1874
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia i. sig. C3 This mad-cap world, this whirlygigging age.
1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 171 Half a score of bouncing girls, ballad-singing, and whirligigging.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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