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CAPRICE
Noun. Mid-17th century.
[French from Italian capriccio (literally) head with the hair standing on end, (hence) horror,
(later, by association with capra goat) sudden start, from capo head (see CAPO noun) + riccio hedgehog (ultimately from Latin (h)ericius URCHIN.]
1(a) An unaccountable change of mind or conduct; a whim; a freakish fancy. M17
1(b) Inclination or disposition to such changes etc.; capriciousness. M17
CAPRICIOUS
Adjective. Early 17th century.
[French capricieux from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio (see preceding) + -oso -OUS.]
1 obsolete. Humorous; fantastic; characterized by fat-fetched comparisons etc. E17-E18
2 Guided by caprice; readily swayed by whim or fancy; inconstant.
Of a thing: subject to sudden change, irregular, unpredictable. E17
Also:
capriciously adverb E17
capriciousness noun L16
I was going to write a really interesting post on caprice and capricious, but I've decided to go and buy some new underpants instead.
Feel free to comment while I'm gone.
Ed, that's like the Moon saying to the Earth, 'I'm not going to orbit you today so you'll have to influence your own tides - Jupiter and I are going to grab a Lapsang Souchong and some carrot cake.'
ReplyDeleteXL or XXL? Oh never mind. I think in the interim I might have become a Scientologist.
DeleteNow there's a word you're going to have to do when you get to the U's in 2050! :) Underpants!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I even heard the word.
Heard underwear, undies, jockeys, boxers, briefs, panties, etc., but underpants hasn't been mentioned in many a year!
That was a bit of a capricious decision you made Ed! I hope you un-capriced? in time!
Jingles, it is illegal, in Thailand, to leave your house without wearing your underpants.
Delete-c
*Underpants* - highlighted and noted as "Requested by Jingles".
DeleteAs for underpants, I did hesitate over that word for second, but it strikes me as one of those "inherently funny" words, and the other options just don't have the same comedic impact.
As it happens, I got distracted right outside The Underpants Emporium and somehow ended up with a tattoo of a butterfly on my ankle. And still no underpants. Better not travel to Thailand any time soon.