Etymology

whirligig

W4H4I1R1L1I1G2I1G2

Today it means: Anything that whirls or spins around, such as a toy top or a merry-go-round. Full definition →

Middle English whyrlegygge
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromwhyrlegygge
  2. English todaywhirligig

From Middle English whyrlegygge; equivalent to whirl (noun or verb) + gig (“a top”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.