merry-go-round

Possibly from go round (= rotate) merrily.

A carousel; a pleasure ride, typically found at fairs and amusement parks, consisting of a slowly revolving circular platform on which various seats are fixed, frequently shaped like horses or other animals.


rotor

From an irregular shortening of rotator. Doublet of rota and ruote.

An amusement park and carnival ride consisting of a rotating cylindrical chamber in which centrifugal force adheres riders to the wall as the floor drops away, creating a sensation of defying gravity.


carousel

en-verb

carousel (third-person singular simple present carousels, present participle carouseling or carouselling, simple past and past participle carouseled or carouselled)

carousels (present singular third-person)
carouseling (participle present)
carouselling (participle present)
carouseled (participle past)
carouseled (past)
carouselled (participle past)
carouselled (past)

From French carrousel, from Italian carosello, probably from carro (“cart”), from Latin carrus. Not believed to be related to carousal.


helter-skelter

en-noun

helter-skelter (countable and uncountable, plural helter-skelters)

In form a reduplication (similar to hurry-scurry and harum-scarum, both with initial /h-/ and /sk-/); perhaps based on Middle English skelten ("to hasten; to raise an alarm"), or maybe related to Old High German skeltan (“scold”) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- (“make noise, yell”), employed as a fossil word.

der

He is finishing, this week, a remarkable thing called a helter skelter: This is a circular building 50 feet high which people climb, by means of an interior winding stair. At the top they each take a seat in a semicircular wooden trough which curls around the outside of the house, gradually leading towards the ground with a terrific rush, they slide down this and are rapidly delivered on to the grass below.

1905 September 30, The Independent, Footscray, Vic, page 2, column 4:

For gentler sliding fun, you can take a ride on the helter-skelter.

2015, Louise Spilsbury, Ride that Rollercoaster!, page 12:

(chiefly British) An amusement ride consisting of a slide that spirals down around the exterior of a tapering central tower.


roundabout

From round + about [from early 20th c.].

what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts

(chiefly UK, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, Australia and sometimes US) A road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island.


bouncy castle

(UK, Canada, New Zealand) Synonym of bouncing castle


Ferris wheel

/ˈfɛɹɪs ʍiːl/

Named after designer and constructor George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859–1896) who built the first such wheel.

named-after

An amusement ride, consisting of an upright rotating wheel having seats that remain in a horizontal position as the wheel revolves.

Ferriswiel

ride at a fair consisting of large wheel


swinger

Shorten went to Blacktown to try and summon the spirit of Gough Whitlam to persuade the swingers it was time for a change of government. Shorten said vote one Labor, for the future.

2019 May 16, Katharine Murphy, “Campaign catchup 2019: close race sparks pre-election jitters”, in The Guardian:


swinger

/ˈswɪnd͡ʒəɹ/


montagnes russes

→ Catalan: muntanyes russes (calque)

→ Italian: montagne russe (calque)

→ Portuguese: montanha-russa (calque)

→ Spanish: montaña rusa (calque)

Literally, “Russian mountains”, a predecessor to the modern roller coaster popular in 18th century Russia and introduced in Paris in 1812 under the name Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville.

Holonym: parc d’attractions

2010, Paulo Coelho, Onze minutes (original title: Onze minutos), Flammarion (publ.).
Je suis restée très longtemps devant les montagnes russes : je voyais que la plupart des gens entraient là en quête d’émotions mais, une fois que les véhicules se mettaient en marche, ils mouraient de peur et suppliaient qu’on les arrête.

I stood for a long time by the roller coaster, and I noticed that most people get on it in search of excitement, but that once it starts, they are terrified and want the cars to stop.


rollercoaster

→ Korean: 롤러코스터 (rolleokoseuteo)

→ Japanese: ローラーコースター (rōrākōsutā)

→ Polish: rollercoaster

Univerbation of roller coaster, after the rolling and coasting motions to which the riders are subjected.

An amusement ride consisting of a train on a track that rises, falls, twists and turns.


rollercoaster

rollercoaster (nominative singular)
rollercoastery (nominative plural)
rollercoastera (genitive singular)
rollercoasterów (genitive plural)
rollercoasterowi (dative singular)
rollercoasterom (dative plural)
rollercoaster (accusative singular)
rollercoastery (accusative plural)
rollercoasterem (instrumental singular)
rollercoasterami (instrumental plural)
rollercoasterze (locative singular)
rollercoasterach (locative plural)
rollercoasterze (singular vocative)
rollercoastery (plural vocative)

Unadapted borrowing from English rollercoaster.

ubor

(transport) rollercoaster, coaster (amusement ride consisting of a train on a track that rises, falls, twists, and turns)


pirate ship

/ˈpaɪ.ɹət ˌʃɪp/

The Sea Angel was a massive ship shaped like a pirate ship.

2008, J. Henry, Genie in My Lager, page 5:

Any ship manned by pirates, especially a large wooden sailing ship armed with cannons and flying a Jolly Roger, as stereotyped in literature and film.

A theme park ride in the form of a pirate ship that swings back and forth with seated riders secured on the deck.


big dipper

Probably from the name given to some rides, such as the Black Pool Big Dipper (1923).

Big Dipper riding / Oh, we'll give the local lads a hiding

1976, “Big Dipper”, in Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!, performed by Jethro Tull:

You could have a big dipper / Going up and down, all around the bends

1986, Peter Gabriel (lyrics and music), “Sledgehammer”, in So:


big wheel

She's a big wheel at IBM.

(idiomatic) A person with a great deal of power or influence, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.


bumper car

A small electric-powered vehicle encircled with a rubber bumper, used in an amusement ride.


manège

Borrowed from Italian maneggio, deverbal of maneggiare (cognate with French manier).

Quelquefois j’en voyais telle ou telle arrêtée sur la plage, sans agrément et que pourtant bien des coïncidences semblaient certifier être la même que j’avais été désespéré de ne pouvoir approcher au moment où elle sortait avec ses amies du manège ou de l’école de gymnastique.

1921, Marcel Proust, chapter 2, in Sodome et Gomorrhe [Sodom and Gomorrah] (À la recherche du temps perdu):

Sometimes I saw some girl resting upon the beach, devoid of charm, and yet apparently identified by various features as one whom I had been in despair at not being able to approach at the moment when she emerged with her friends from the riding school or gymnasium.


Karussell

de-noun

Karussell n (strong, genitive Karusselles or Karussells, plural Karusselle or Karussells)

Karusselles (genitive)
Karussells (genitive)
Karusselle (plural)
Karussells (plural)
Karussell (nominative singular)
Karusselle (definite nominative plural)
Karussells (definite nominative plural)
Karusselles (genitive singular)
Karussells (genitive singular)
Karusselle (definite genitive plural)
Karussells (definite genitive plural)
Karussell (dative singular)
Karusselle (dative singular)
Karussellen (dative definite plural)
Karussells (dative definite plural)
Karussell (accusative singular)
Karusselle (accusative definite plural)
Karussells (accusative definite plural)

(Amusement ride) carousel (US), merry-go-round (UK)


ghost train

(theater) An excursion done by many tourist railways around the world. Usually, a fictional story is created and performed with static displays or live actors on either side of a train. Actors and actresses play out a story on the long and narrow stage provided by the railcar aisles.

(UK) A rail service which does not appear in the public timetables.

(UK) A supernatural manifestation of a railway locomotive or passenger cars.

An unmanned train rolling on the train line.

As a second-year student at Kharkiv University, I took a summer job as a conductor of the train that ran from Novorossiysk on the Russian Black Sea coast to Kaliningrad in the Baltics - a 48-hour journey via Kharkiv, from where the train originated. In modern geographical terms, it went across four independent states: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania. As such, it has now joined the long list of 'ghost trains', extinguished by the ongoing war.

2024 September 4, Vitali Vitaliev, “A salute to Ukraine's 'Second Army'”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 47:

A train service that no longer exists, having stopped running.


funhouse

“It’s not good stewardship. If the guests wanted to walk through a funhouse with guys jumping out of the shadows saying ‘booga-booga,’ they’d go to one of the Halloween Houses in their hometowns. The Mansion’s better than that. I can’t be a part of this plan.”

2003, Cory Doctorow, chapter 6, in Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom:

(originally US) A structure, usually at a circus or amusement park, enclosing several interactive attractions such as distorting mirrors, ramps, slides, stairs, rotating barrel slides, etc., that usually do not involve performers.

lustigt hus

in the lexicalized (without "det") singular definite "lustiga huset" (the funny house)


dodgem

What better way to let off a little steam, than by zipping around on the dodgems, or flying high on the Cosmic Typhoon roller coaster?

2007 December 19, “Special Offer”, in North Devon Gazette, UK:

(UK, Ireland) A bumper car in an amusement park.


grande roue

Ferris wheel (an amusement ride consisting of an upright rotating wheel having seats that remain in a horizontal position as the wheel revolves)


diabelski młyn

diabelski młyn (nominative singular)
diabelskie młyny (nominative plural)
diabelskiego młyna (genitive singular)
diabelskich młynów (genitive plural)
diabelskiemu młynowi (dative singular)
diabelskim młynom (dative plural)
diabelski młyn (accusative singular)
diabelskie młyny (accusative plural)
diabelskim młynem (instrumental singular)
diabelskimi młynami (instrumental plural)
diabelskim młynie (locative singular)
diabelskich młynach (locative plural)
diabelski młynie (singular vocative)
diabelskie młyny (plural vocative)

Literally, “devilish/devil's mill”. Compare Russian чёртово колесо́ (čórtovo kolesó).

ncog

чёртово колесо́

(idiomatic) Ferris wheel (amusement ride consisting of an upright rotating wheel having seats that remain in a horizontal position as the wheel revolves)


noria

→ English: noria

→ French: noria

Borrowed from Arabic نَاعُورَة (nāʕūra), from Classical Syriac ܢܥܘܪܬܐ (nāʿōrtāʾ, “water wheel; growler”), from ܢܥܪ (nʿar, “to roar, growl, bray”).


water slide

A recreational slide with water flowing down it to reduce friction, sometimes involving the participant sitting on a mat or raft and sometimes leading into a pool at the bottom.

زلاجة مائية

a recreational slide with water flowing down it


haunted house

en-noun

haunted house (countable and uncountable, plural haunted houses)

بَيْت أَشْبَاح

house believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences

Lisette can't wait to create a haunted house on Halloween night.

An amusement attraction in which a building or series of rooms is decorated to frighten the people who pass through.

This enigmatic bunch are a reaction to Manchester's musical past, with a blend of haunted house and rave dynamics

2011 March 25, Paul Lester, “New band of the day: Christian AIDS (No 991)”, in The Guardian:

(uncountable, music) Synonym of witch house (“music genre”)

It was easy to see that it was an avoided house—a house that was shunned by the village, to which my eye was guided by a church spire some half a mile off—a house that nobody would take. And the natural inference was, that it had the reputation of being a haunted house.

1859, Charles Dickens, “The Mortals in the House”, in The Haunted House:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see haunted, house.


moon bounce

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-moon bounce.wav


bouncing castle

bouncing castle (plural bouncing castles)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bouncing castle.wav

A large inflatable structure, resembling a castle etc., on which children jump and play as on a trampoline.

彈跳城堡

inflatable structure on which children jump and play


calcinculo

Univerbation of calcio in culo (“kick in [the] ass”).

univerbation

chairoplane, swing ride (fairground ride)


карусель

ru-noun+

карусе́льный

карусе́ль • (karusélʹ) f inan (genitive карусе́ли, nominative plural карусе́ли, genitive plural карусе́лей, relational adjective карусе́льный)

карусе́ль (canonical)
karusélʹ (romanization)
карусе́ли (genitive)
карусе́ли (nominative plural)
карусе́лей (genitive plural)
карусе́льный (adjective relational)
карусе́ль (nominative singular)
карусе́ли (nominative plural)
карусе́ли (genitive singular)
карусе́лей (genitive plural)
карусе́ли (dative singular)
карусе́лям (dative plural)
карусе́ль (accusative singular)
карусе́ли (accusative plural)
карусе́лью (instrumental singular)
карусе́лями (instrumental plural)
карусе́ли (prepositional singular)
карусе́лях (plural prepositional)

Ru-карусель.ogg


чёртово колесо

чёртово колесо́ • (čórtovo kolesó) n inan (genitive чёртова колеса́, nominative plural чёртовы колёса, genitive plural чёртовых колёс)

чёртово колесо ́ (canonical)
čórtovo kolesó (romanization)
чёртова колеса́ (genitive)
чёртовы колёса (nominative plural)
чёртовых колёс (genitive plural)
чёртово колесо́ (nominative singular)
чёртовы колёса (nominative plural)
чёртова колеса́ (genitive singular)
чёртовых колёс (genitive plural)
чёртову колесу́ (dative singular)
чёртовым колёсам (dative plural)
чёртово колесо́ (accusative singular)
чёртовы колёса (accusative plural)
чёртовым колесо́м (instrumental singular)
чёртовыми колёсами (instrumental plural)
чёртовом колесе́ (prepositional singular)
чёртовых колёсах (plural prepositional)

[ˈt͡ɕɵrtəvə kəlʲɪˈso]

.
From чёртово (čortovo, “devil's”) + колесо́ (kolesó, “wheel”). Compare ეშმაკის ბორბალი (ešmaḳis borbali) for a possible calque, as well as Polish diabelski młyn.

ru:чёртово колесо

Ferris wheel (amusement ride: vertical observation wheel)

Human roulette wheel
Human roulette wheel

Human roulette wheel, Devil's wheel (amusement ride: horizontal rotating disk, which uses centrifugal force to fling people from its surface)


log flume

(by extension) An amusement park ride where passengers sit in a hollow log and travel along a track or circuit powered mostly by the flow of water.


dark ride

An indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes, often with animation, sounds, and special effects.


montaña rusa

Chela gritó, “¡Vamos a la montaña rusa! ¡Qué divertido!

2005, Jill Norris, Spanish/English Read & Understand, Grade 1, page 241:

Chela screamed, "Let's go to the rollercoaster! How fun!

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see montaña, rusa.


chairoplane

A fairground ride, a variation on the carousel in which the chairs are suspended from the rotating top of the carousel.


drop tower

An amusement ride in which riders experience free fall.


ジェットコースター

ja-noun

ジェットコースター • (jettokōsutā)

Wasei eigo (和製英語; pseudo-anglicism), derived from jet + coaster. From the former "Jet Coaster" (1955 - 2000) at Tokyo Dome City, one of the first coasters built in Japan.


tunnel of love

A carnival dark ride for couples in boats, either relaxing and romantic, or spooky (encouraging the couple to cling to one another).


롤러코스터

[ɾo̞ɭɭʌ̹kʰo̞sʰɯtʰʌ̹]


ローラーコースター

ja-noun

ローラーコースター • (rōrākōsutā)

[ɾo̞ːɾa̠ːko̞ːsɨ̥ta̠ː]

(uncommon) rollercoaster (amusement ride)


американские горки

ru-noun+

америка́нские

америка́нские го́рки • (amerikánskije górki) f inan pl (genitive америка́нских го́рок, plural only)

америка́нские го́рки (canonical)
amerikánskije górki (romanization)
америка́нских го́рок (genitive)
америка́нские го́рки (nominative plural)
америка́нских го́рок (genitive plural)
америка́нским го́ркам (dative plural)
америка́нские го́рки (accusative plural)
америка́нскими го́рками (instrumental plural)
америка́нских го́рках (plural prepositional)

Literally, “American (small) mountains”, or more loosely translated as “American hills”.

lit

ru:американские горки


회전목마

hoejeonmongma (romanization)
回轉木馬 (hanja)

[hø̞d͡ʑʌ̹nmo̞ŋma̠]


toro mecánico

es-noun

toro mecánico m (plural toros mecánicos)


flying jenny

(US, regional) roundabout; merry-go-round


merry-go-whirl

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-merry-go-whirl.wav

year unknown, Chicago (Ill.). Department of Public Works, Annual Report of the Department of Public Works for the Year Ending December 31, ... to the City Council of the City of Chicago
... the playground repairmen. This apparatus consisted of athletic slides, swing sets, baby chair swing sets, see-saws, giant stride ladders, merry-go-whirls, and horizontal ladders.

... mass communications route in a merry-go-whirl of “blood, sweat and not-always-pear-shaped tones." Completely student operated by Benson's junior and senior boys ...

Mona: Meanwhile, I was confronting Von Kreepsula. In the first stage of our duel, we did battle on the monkey bars of doom! Then we exchanged vampire blasts on the swing sets of chaos! Then we tried to outlast each other on the merry-go-whirl of havoc!

1999, Mona the Vampire, "Von Kreepsula Runs Amok" (season 1, episode 2a)


amusement ride

A mechanical device or structure that moves people to create enjoyment.


mechanical bull

en-noun

mechanical bull (plural mechanical bulls)

An amusement ride consisting of a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse.


touro mecânico

pt-noun

touro mecânico m (plural touros mecánicos)


touro mecánico

gl-noun

touro mecánico m (plural touros mecánicos)


óriáskerék

óriáskerekek (plural)
óriáskerék (nominative singular)
óriáskerekek (nominative plural)
óriáskereket (accusative singular)
óriáskerekeket (accusative plural)
óriáskeréknek (dative singular)
óriáskerekeknek (dative plural)
óriáskerékkel (instrumental singular)
óriáskerekekkel (instrumental plural)
óriáskerékért (causal-final singular)
óriáskerekekért (causal-final plural)
óriáskerékké (singular translative)
óriáskerekekké (plural translative)
óriáskerékig (singular terminative)
óriáskerekekig (plural terminative)
óriáskerékként (essive-formal singular)
óriáskerekekként (essive-formal plural)
óriáskerékben (inessive singular)
óriáskerekekben (inessive plural)
óriáskeréken (singular superessive)
óriáskerekeken (plural superessive)
óriáskeréknél (adessive singular)
óriáskerekeknél (adessive plural)
óriáskerékbe (illative singular)
óriáskerekekbe (illative plural)
óriáskerékre (singular sublative)
óriáskerekekre (plural sublative)
óriáskerékhez (allative singular)
óriáskerekekhez (allative plural)
óriáskerékből (elative singular)
óriáskerekekből (elative plural)
óriáskerékről (delative singular)
óriáskerekekről (delative plural)
óriáskeréktől (ablative singular)
óriáskerekektől (ablative plural)
óriáskeréké (possessed-single possessive predicative singular)
óriáskerekeké (plural possessed-single possessive predicative)
óriáskerékéi (possessed-single possessive predicative singular)
óriáskerekekéi (plural possessed-single possessive predicative)
óriáskerekem (first-person possessed-single possessive singular)
óriáskerekeim (first-person possessed-many possessive singular)
óriáskereked (possessed-single possessive second-person singular)
óriáskerekeid (possessed-many possessive second-person singular)
óriáskereke (possessed-single possessive singular third-person)
óriáskerekei (possessed-many possessive singular third-person)
óriáskerekünk (first-person plural possessed-single possessive)
óriáskerekeink (first-person plural possessed-many possessive)
óriáskereketek (plural possessed-single possessive second-person)
óriáskerekeitek (plural possessed-many possessive second-person)
óriáskerekük (plural possessed-single possessive third-person)
óriáskerekeik (plural possessed-many possessive third-person)


kiddie ride

A small amusement ride for children, typically coin-operated.


swing ride

An amusement ride consisting of chairs suspended from a carousel.


dodgem car

After the effectiveness of the trawl wire cutter was demonstrated, the second Cod War degenerated into dodgem cars on the high seas.


kolejka górska

kolejka górska (nominative singular)
kolejki górskie (nominative plural)
kolejki górskiej (genitive singular)
kolejek górskich (genitive plural)
kolejce górskiej (dative singular)
kolejkom górskim (dative plural)
kolejkę górską (accusative singular)
kolejki górskie (accusative plural)
kolejką górską (instrumental singular)
kolejkami górskimi (instrumental plural)
kolejce górskiej (locative singular)
kolejkach górskich (locative plural)
kolejko górska (singular vocative)
kolejki górskie (plural vocative)

(transport) rollercoaster, coaster (amusement ride consisting of a buggy on a track that rises, falls, twists, and turns)


house of mirrors

en-noun

house of mirrors (plural houses of mirrors)

A traditional attraction at funfairs, carnivals, and amusement parks consisting of a maze walled with mirrors and glass panes, including curved mirrors that distort the reflected image.


spinning teacups

spinning teacups pl (normally plural, singular spinning teacup)

An amusement ride consisting of a series of large spinning vehicles, shaped and decorated as giant teacups, in which people sit.