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Trace Whimsical Back to the 16th Century
Even the origin of whimsical is whimsical: its ultimate source (by way of the noun whimsy) is the now-obscure whim-wham, a noun from the early 16th century that first referred to an ornamental object or trinket, and later to an eccentric impulse or interest—that is, to what in modern terms can be called a whim. The origin of whim-wham isn’t clear, but it’s among a class of words known as reduplications, words that are formed by repeating a word, as in go-go, or by adding to a word one that sounds very similar to it, as in dillydally. (In the case of whim-wham, the original duplicated term has been lost to time.) While whimsical first described those who tend toward whimsy, it now commonly describes things that are unusual in a playful or amusing way, as in “charmed by the book’s whimsical illustrations.”
Examples of whimsical in a Sentence
Janice Wald Henderson, Chocolatier, March 2001
Unlike the broad slapstick humor of Musical Mose and other early Herriman strips, Krazy Kat was gentle, fey, and whimsical.
—Jeet Heer, Lingua Franca, September 2001
In the whimsical linguistics of theoretical physics, the "naked" electron is an imaginary object cut off from the influences of the field, whereas a "dressed" electron carries the imprint of the universe, but it is all buried in extremely tiny modifications to its bare properties.
—Leon Lederman et al., The God Particle, 1993
She has a whimsical sense of humor.
it's hard to make plans with such a whimsical best friend
David Browne, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025
In their first cover, for the June 16, 2025, issue, Aoki celebrates the animal’s playful and whimsical nature.
—Françoise Mouly, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Nestled under century-old lemons trees, the space has a romantic and whimsical feel, where chef Damien Andrews serves up the French classics—like fresh pearly redfish or tomato-glazed octopus.
—Monica Mendal, Vogue, 8 June 2025
The film’s distinctive blend of puppetry and stop-motion animation crafts a whimsical yet poignant tale that will resonate with audiences of any age.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for whimsical
Cite this Entry
“Whimsical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whimsical. Accessed 24 Jun. 2025.
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whimsical
adjective
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