English
whimsy
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈwɪmzi/, /ˈʍɪmzi/
Noun

whimsy (uncountable)

  1. A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd behaviour.
    • the whimsies of poets and painters
    • 1691, Jonathan Swift, Ode to the Athenian Society
      men's folly, whimsies, and inconstancy.
    • mistaking the whimseys of a feverish brain for the calm revelation of truth
  2. An impulsive, illogical or capricious character.
  3. (mining) A whim capstan or vertical drum.
  4. A jigsaw puzzle piece that has been cut into a recognizable shape, as if on a whim; often the shape is representative of the theme of the image used for the puzzle.
    • 2016, Rob Corddry, Jonathan Stern, and David Wain, Childrens Hospital, Season 7, Episode 2
      "Dori, you have to solve this puzzle!" "Sure, right away doctor. Quality construction... clean edges. Oh, a whimsy!"''
Translations Translations
  • German: Launigkeit, Spleenigkeit, launiger Charakter
  • Portuguese: impulsivo
Verb

whimsy (whimsies, present participle whimsying; past and past participle whimsied)

  1. (transitive) To fill with whimsies or whims; to make fantastic; to craze.
    • J. Fletcher
      To have a man's brain whimsied with his wealth.


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