Whimsey

4 definitions found

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

  Whimsey \Whim"sey\, Whimsy \Whimsy\, n.; pl. {Whimseys}or
     {Whimsies}. [See {Whim}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A whim; a freak; a capricious notion, a fanciful or odd
        conceit. "The whimsies of poets and painters." --Ray.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Men's folly, whimsies, and inconstancy. --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Mistaking the whimseys of a feverish brain for the
              calm revelation of truth.             --Bancroft.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Mining) A whim.
        [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.
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     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 The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Whimsey \Whim"sey\, v. t.
     To fill with whimseys, or whims; to make fantastic; to craze.
     [R.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
           To have a man's brain whimsied with his wealth. --J.
                                                    Fletcher.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  whimsey
       n 1: 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}, {whim}, {whimsy}]
       2: 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" [syn: {flightiness},
           {arbitrariness}, {whimsicality}, {whimsy}, {capriciousness}]