whim en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ʍɪm/ without the wine–whine merger
- /wɪm/
Etymology
Clipping of whim-wham.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A fanciful impulse, or sudden change of idea.
“No, it is not for a wager; it is a whim of mine, which I fancy from the tone of your conversation you could understand, being apparently somewhat whimsical yourself.” “So far as whim goes, be assured of my sympathy.”
1873, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], Kenelm Chillingly: His Adventures and Opinions […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:[…]the unholy stone whereon Tess had been compelled by Alec d’Urberville, in his whim of reformation, to swear the strange oath that she would never wilfully tempt him again.
1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:He also disagreed with the idea of cancelling projects "completely at the whim of an individual Prime Minister," citing Rishi Sunak's decision to cancel HS2 north of Handsacre Junction.
2025 October 15, “News: Renewed commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail”, in RAIL, number 1046, page 9:In an internet-dominated world where vain techlords rule us by whim, sovereign governments seem reduced to the role of rearguard guerrillas.
2025 October 4, Van Badham, “In a world where techlords rule us by whim, Australia’s stance against deepfakes is reason to celebrate”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:[…]“I am sorry to make you the victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life, Watson, I simply can’t leave that case in this condition.
1904 September, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:“You’re either with me or you’re against me” became Dany’s credo, and those against her were an ever-changing multitude to be determined solely by her whims.
2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 22 May 2019:Let ev’ry Man enjoy his whim; / What’s He to Me, or I to him?
1763, Charles Churchill, The Ghost, book IV, J. Coote, →OCLC, page 137:The king was tired of this whim of hers long ago, and thought she ought to get married like other people; there was nothing she need wait for, she was old enough and she would not be any richer either, for she was to have half the kingdom, which she inherited after her mother.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H. L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 269:
- (countable, uncountable) A large capstan or vertical drum turned by horse power or steam power, for raising ore or water, etc., from mines, or for other purposes.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| whims | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
on a whim · whim gin · at the whim of · whim shaft
Hypernyms
notion · impulse · idea · thought
Relateds
whimsy · on a whim · whimling · whimsical
Synonyms
caprice · boutade · crotchet · kink · maggot · spleen · flisk · whim · whimsy · whim-wham · conceit · capriccio · fangle · lark · lark · megrim · delirament · vagary · freak · toy · figary · fancy
Translations (97)
nb innfall (fanciful impulse) · ru при́хоть (fanciful impulse) · gl antollo (fanciful impulse) · gl reuto (fanciful impulse) · de Verrücktheit (fanciful impulse) · it stravaganza (fanciful impulse) · be пры́мха (fanciful impulse) · it gnagnera (fanciful impulse) · he גַּחֲמָה (fanciful impulse) · ca antull (fanciful impulse) · cmn 奇想 (fanciful impulse) · pl kaprys (fanciful impulse) · tr heves (fanciful impulse) · is dyntur (fanciful impulse) · grc σχεδίασμα (fanciful impulse) · uk при́мха (fanciful impulse) · uk капри́з (fanciful impulse) · gl peta (fanciful impulse) · sv infall (fanciful impulse) · cmn 怪念頭 /怪念头 (fanciful impulse) · fa-ira ویر (fanciful impulse) · sq rrebe (fanciful impulse) · mk хир (fanciful impulse) · ca capritx (fanciful impulse) · it capriccio (fanciful impulse) · ja 移り気 (fanciful impulse) · sv nyck (fanciful impulse) · gl mecada (fanciful impulse) · pt capricho (fanciful impulse) · sl kaprica (fanciful impulse) · ca caprici (fanciful impulse) · mi whakaaro ohia (fanciful impulse) · pt inspiração (fanciful impulse) · az şıltaq (fanciful impulse) · la arbitrium (fanciful impulse) · de Göpel (large capstan) · ca curolla (fanciful impulse) · uk забага́нка (fanciful impulse) · de wunderlicher Einfall (fanciful impulse) · ru причу́да (fanciful impulse) · it stramberia (fanciful impulse) · hu szeszély (fanciful impulse) · fi oikku (fanciful impulse) · it grillo (fanciful impulse) · es antojo (fanciful impulse) · cmn 任性 (fanciful impulse) · it uzzolo (fanciful impulse) · pl widzimisię (fanciful impulse) · ar نَزْوَة (fanciful impulse) · ro capriciu (fanciful impulse) · sk vrtoch (fanciful impulse) · ja 気紛れ (fanciful impulse) · ca dèria (fanciful impulse) · ko 변덕 (fanciful impulse) · ru блажь (fanciful impulse) · ro toană (fanciful impulse) · it ghiribizzo (fanciful impulse) · cs vrtoch (fanciful impulse) · tg инҷиқӣ (fanciful impulse) · gl rautada (fanciful impulse) · de Kaprize (fanciful impulse) · tg нозунуз (fanciful impulse) · cs rozmar (fanciful impulse) · gl oura (fanciful impulse) · nl gril (fanciful impulse) · uk за́баг (fanciful impulse) · bcl kauragan (fanciful impulse) · fr caprice (fanciful impulse) · de Grille (fanciful impulse) · da indskydelse (fanciful impulse) · eo kaprico (fanciful impulse) · gl vértola (fanciful impulse) · tr kapris (fanciful impulse) · da grille (fanciful impulse) · de Laune (fanciful impulse) · de Marotte (fanciful impulse) · sh хи̑р (fanciful impulse) · fr lubie (fanciful impulse) · gl celeima (fanciful impulse) · is kenjar (fanciful impulse) · sk rozmar (fanciful impulse) · es ventolera (fanciful impulse) · ru капри́з (fanciful impulse) · xal яр (fanciful impulse) · it sfizio (fanciful impulse) · it griccio (fanciful impulse) · is duttlungur (fanciful impulse) · da indfald (fanciful impulse) · es capricho (fanciful impulse) · bg прищя́вка (fanciful impulse) · be капры́з (fanciful impulse) · it stranezza (fanciful impulse) · it fantasia (fanciful impulse) · cmn 心血來潮 /心血来潮 (fanciful impulse) · sh hȋr (fanciful impulse) · gl gurrumío (fanciful impulse) · bg капри́з (fanciful impulse)