🇮🇹Italian Source WordCode: IT

capriccio

Pronunciation / Transliteration: kaˈprittʃo

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Whim/hwɪm/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
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🇮🇹 Example Sentence in Italian:

"Ha deciso di partire per un capriccio."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.

    "She bought the expensive dress on a whim during her lunch break."
  2. 2

    A capricious or fanciful notion; a passing thought or impulse.

    "He indulged every whim of his spoiled pets."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived in the 17th century as a truncation of whim-wham, a reduplicated word of uncertain echoic origin likely related to Northern English and Scandinavian dialectal terms for restless or whimsical movements. Over time, the term evolved from denoting a whimsical object or trinket to signify a sudden, impulsive desire or changing fancy.

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