ぐる

This term is the root of a cluster of terms deriving from a basic meaning of turning, spinning, going around in a circle.

• ぐるり (gururi, adverb), attested from 1603[1]
• ぐるぐる (guruguru, adverb), attested from 1625[1]
• ぐる (guru, noun), attested from 1692[1]
• ぐるっと (gurutto, adverb), attested from 1907[1]

Almost certainly derived from verb 繰る (kuru, “to wind, to spin, to turn pages”), with similar derivatives:

• くるり (kururi, adverb), attested from the 1150s[1]
• くるくる (kurukuru, adverb), attested from the late 900s[1]
• くるっと (kurutto, adverb), attested from 1907[1]

Compare also likely-related noun 枢 (kuru, kururu, kururi, “door hinge”).

ぐる • (guru) 

1. rotating, spinning, turning

• ぐるり (gururi)
• ぐるぐる (guruguru)
• ぐる (guru, noun)
• ぐるっと (gurutto)

Originated as a jōruri or kabuki argot word, from the sense of a (usually criminal) ring that metaphorically goes ぐるぐる (guruguru, “around and around”).[2]

• (Tokyo) ぐ​る [gúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝɾɯ̟ᵝ]

ぐる or グル • (guru) 

1. [from 1717] (slang) accomplice, co-conspirator

   Synonyms: 共犯者 (kyōhansha), 共謀者 (kyōbōsha)

Shortening of ぐるぐる髷 (guruguru mage, guruguru wage), a hairstyle during the Edo period wherein the hair is simply wound up (guruguru) and pinned on top of the head in a bun.[1]

• (Tokyo) ぐ​る [gúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝɾɯ̟ᵝ]

ぐる • (guru) 

1. [from 1692] (slang, historical) the bun hairstyle

   Synonym: ぐるぐる髷 (guruguru mage, guruguru wage)

Shortening and shift from ぐるり (gururi), from the way that an 帯 (obi, “sash”) winds around the body.[1]

• (Tokyo) ぐ​る [gúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝɾɯ̟ᵝ]

ぐる • (guru) 

1. [from 1798] (slang, archaic) an obi

   Synonym: 帯 (obi)