Whim

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Whim \Whim\, v. i.
     To be subject to, or indulge in, whims; to be whimsical,
     giddy, or freakish. [R.] --Congreve.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Whim \Whim\, n. [Cf. {Whimbrel}.] (Zool.)
     The European widgeon. [Prov. Eng.]
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A sudden turn or start of the mind; a temporary
        eccentricity; a freak; a fancy; a capricious notion; a
        humor; a caprice.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Let every man enjoy his whim.         --Churchill.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  whim
       n 1: a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse" [syn: {caprice},
             {impulse}]
       2: 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"
          [syn: {notion}, {whimsy}, {whimsey}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "whim":
     apparition, bee, boutade, brainchild, brainstorm, bubble,
     capriccio, caprice, chimera, conceit, crank, craze, crazy idea,
     crotchet, delirium, disposition, dream, eidolon, fad, fancy,
     fantasque, fantastic notion, fantasy, fiction, figment, flimflam,
     fool notion, freak, freakish inspiration, hallucination,
     harebrained idea, humor, idea, idle fancy, illusion, imagery,
     imagination, imagining, inclination, insubstantial image,
     invention, kink, maggot, make-believe, megrim, myth, notion,
     passing fancy, phantasm, phantom, quirk, romance, sick fancy,
     thick-coming fancies, thought, toy, trip, vagary, vapor, vision,
     whim-wham, whimsy, wildest dreams