whirl·i·gig  (wûr l ĭ-g ĭg ′, hwûr -)
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n.1. Any of various spinning toys. 2. A carousel; a merry-go-round. 3. Something that continuously whirls. 4. A whirligig beetle.
[Middle English whirlegigge : whirlen, whirl; see WHIRL + -gigge, something that rotates (possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to GIG1).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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