whimsy

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an odd, fanciful, or capricious idea or impulse

   The proposal was dismissed as a passing whimsy rather than a serious plan.

2. 2
   noun

   playfully unusual, quaint, or imaginative character

   The illustrations add warmth and whimsy to the otherwise sober book.

Simplified etymology

Whimsy arose in the 17th century from whim-wham, a 16th-century word for a decorative trinket or an odd notion. Its earliest sense was “a sudden fancy” or “whim.” Whim itself also developed from whim-wham during the 17th century after first meaning a pun or play on words.

Probably formed from whims + -y and related to whim-wham. Its senses developed from a capricious notion to the playful imaginative quality associated with such notions.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary