n. [ Whirl + gig. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses. [ 1913 Webster ] With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning about each head. G. W. Cable. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. (Zool.) 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. [ 1913 Webster ] | 