caprice Hear it!

caprice definition

ca·price (kə prēs′)

noun

  1. a sudden, impulsive change in the way one thinks or acts; freakish notion; whim
  2. a capricious quality or nature
  3. Music a capriccio

Etymology: Fr < It capriccio, a shivering, whim < capo (< L caput, head) + riccio, curl, frizzled, lit., hedgehog (< L ericius: see urchin); hence, orig., head with bristling hair, horripilation; meaning infl. by assoc. with It capriola (see capriole) & capra < L capra, she-goat

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.