whimsey : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: whimsey	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for whimsey
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
whimsey n an odd or fanciful or capricious idea; "the theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories"; "he had a whimsy about flying to the moon"; "whimsy can be humorous to someone with time to enjoy it" Synonym(s): notion, whim, whimsy, whimsey the trait of acting unpredictably and more from whim or caprice than from reason or judgment; "I despair at the flightiness and whimsicality of my memory" Synonym(s): flightiness, arbitrariness, whimsicality, whimsy, whimsey, capriciousness
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Whim \Whim\, n. [Cf. Icel. hwima to wander with the eyes, vim giddiness, Norw. kvima to whisk or flutter about, to trifle, Dan. vimse to skip, whisk, jump from one thing to another, dial. Sw. hvimsa to be unsteady, dizzy, W. chwimio to move briskly.] 1. A sudden turn or start of the mind; a temporary eccentricity; a freak; a fancy; a capricious notion; a humor; a caprice. Let every man enjoy his whim. --Churchill. 2. (Mining) 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; -- called also {whim gin}, and {whimsey}. {Whim gin} (Mining), a whim. See {Whim}, 2. {Whim shaft} (Mining), a shaft through which ore, water, etc., is raised from a mine by means of a whim. Syn: Freak; caprice; whimsey; fancy. Usage: {Whim}, {Freak}, {Caprice}. Freak denotes an impulsive, inconsiderate change of mind, as by a child or a lunatic. Whim is a mental eccentricity due to peculiar processes or habits of thought. Caprice is closely allied in meaning to freak, but implies more definitely a quality of willfulness or wantonness.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Whimsey \Whim"sey\, Whimsy \Whimsy\, n.; pl. {Whimseys}or {Whimsies}. [See {Whim}.] 1. A whim; a freak; a capricious notion, a fanciful or odd conceit. [bd]The whimsies of poets and painters.[b8] --Ray. Men's folly, whimsies, and inconstancy. --Swift. Mistaking the whimseys of a feverish brain for the calm revelation of truth. --Bancroft. 2. (Mining) A whim.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Whimsey \Whim"sey\, v. t. To fill with whimseys, or whims; to make fantastic; to craze. [R.] To have a man's brain whimsied with his wealth. --J. Fletcher.