A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1653
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(Quhirlljack,) Whirljack, n. [Nonce-formation: e.m.E. whirl Quhirl(l and jack, cf. Jak n.1 2.] A whirligig (the toy). — 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i xi 57 (OED).
That he [sc. Gargantua] might play … they made him a faire weather whirljack [1694 whirle-gig] of the wings of the windmill
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"Quhirlljack n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/quhirlljack>
