\Whirl"i*gig\, n. [Whirl + gig.]
1. A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an
   axis, or like a top. --Johnson.
2. Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or
   things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden
   horses.
         With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning
         about each head.                      --G. W. Cable.
3. A medi[ae]val 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.
4. (Zo["o]l.) 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}.