whirligig (redirected from whirligig beetles)

whirl·i·gig  (hwûrl-gg, wûr-)

n.

1. Any of various spinning toys.

2. A carousel; a merry-go-round.

3. Something that continuously whirls.

4. The whirligig beetle.

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[Middle English whirlegigge : whirlen, whirl; see whirl + -gigge, something that rotates (possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to gig).]

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whirligig [ˈwɜːlɪˌgɪg]

n

1. (Non-sporting Hobbies / Other Non-sporting Hobbies) any spinning toy, such as a top

2. another name for merry-go-round

3. anything that whirls about, spins, or moves in a circular or giddy way the whirligig of social life

4. (Non-sporting Hobbies / Other Non-sporting Hobbies) another name for windmill (the toy)

[whirlegigge, from whirl + gig¹]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	whirligig - a conical child's plaything tapering to a steel point on which it can be made to spin; "he got a bright red top and string for his birthday" spinning top, teetotum, top humming top - a top that makes a humming noise as it spins peg top - a pear-shaped top made of wood with a metal center pin plaything, toy - an artifact designed to be played with whip top, whipping top - a top that is spun by whipping
	2.	whirligig - a large, rotating machine with seats for children to ride or amusement carousel, carrousel, merry-go-round, roundabout ride - a mechanical device that you ride for amusement or excitement
Verb	1.	whirligig - whirl or spin like a whirligig spin, spin around, gyrate, reel, whirl - revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis; "The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy"

Translations

whirligig [ˈwɜːlɪgɪg] N

1. (= toy) → molinete m

2. (= merry-go-round) → tiovivo m

3. (also whirligig beetle) → girino m

4. (fig) → vicisitudes fpl; (= confusion) → movimiento m confuso

whirligig

n (= top) → Kreisel m; (= roundabout) → Karussell nt, → Ringelspiel nt; (fig) → (ewiges) Wechselspiel nt