Word of the Day

: April 2, 2015

capricious

adjective kuh-PRISH-us

What It Means

: governed or characterized by caprice : impulsive, unpredictable

capricious in Context

The court ruled that the punishment was arbitrary and capricious.

"Some of her songs are humorous, even capricious, though many reflect on the more hidden of life's injustices." - St. Augustine (Florida) Record, February 27, 2015

Did You Know?

The noun caprice, which first appeared in English in the mid-17th century, is a synonym of whim. Evidence shows that the adjective capricious debuted about sixty years before caprice; it's likely, however, that both words derived via French from the Italian capriccio, which originally referred not to a sudden desire but to a sudden shudder of fear. Capriccio in turn derives from the Italian capo, meaning "head," and riccio, the word for "hedgehog." Someone who shuddered in fear, therefore, was said to have a "hedgehog head"-meaning that his or her hair stood on end like the spines of a hedgehog.