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.

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.

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