Whim \Whim\, n. [Cf. Whimbrel.] (Zool.) The European
widgeon. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]
Whim \Whim\, n. [Cf. Icel. hwima to wander with
the eyes, vim giddiness, Norw. kvima to whisk or flutter about, to
trifle, Dan. vimse to skip, whisk, jump from one thing to another,
dial. Sw. hvimsa to be unsteady, dizzy, W. chwimio to move
briskly.] [1913 Webster]
A sudden turn or start of the mind; a temporary
eccentricity; a freak; a fancy; a capricious notion; a humor; a
caprice. [1913 Webster] Let every man enjoy his whim. --Churchill.
[1913 Webster]
(Mining) A large capstan or vertical drum turned
by horse power or steam power, for raising ore or water, etc., from
mines, or for other purposes; -- called also whim gin, and
whimsey. [1913 Webster]
Whim gin
(Mining), a whim. See Whim,
Whim shaft
(Mining), a shaft through which ore, water, etc., is raised from a
mine by means of a whim. [1913 Webster] Syn: Freak; caprice;
whimsey; fancy. Usage: Whim, Freak, Caprice. Freak denotes an
impulsive, inconsiderate change of mind, as by a child or a
lunatic. Whim is a mental eccentricity due to peculiar processes or
habits of thought. Caprice is closely allied in meaning to freak,
but implies more definitely a quality of willfulness or wantonness.
[1913 Webster]
Word Net
whimNoun
2 an odd or fanciful or capricious idea; "the
theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his
stories"; "he had a whimsy about flying to the moon"; "whimsy can
be humorous to someone with time to enjoy it" [syn: notion, whimsy, whimsey]
Moby Thesaurus
apparition, bee, boutade, brainchild, brainstorm, bubble, capriccio, caprice, chimera, conceit, crank, craze, crazy idea, crotchet, delirium, disposition, dream, eidolon, fad, fancy, fantasque, fantastic notion, fantasy, fiction, figment, flimflam, fool notion, freak, freakish inspiration, hallucination, harebrained idea, humor, idea, idle fancy, illusion, imagery, imagination, imagining, inclination, insubstantial image, invention, kink, maggot, make-believe, megrim, myth, notion, passing fancy, phantasm, phantom, quirk, romance, sick fancy, thick-coming fancies, thought, toy, trip, vagary, vapor, vision, whim-wham, whimsy, wildest dreamsEnglish
Pronunciation
-
- Rhymes: -ɪm
Noun
Translations
fanciful impulse
Whim or WHIM has various meanings:
- the word whim, meaning
- a temporary fancy or eccentricity; or
- a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining
- a carriage.
- Adventures of Wim, a book by George Cockroft, as Luke Rhinehart, reissued as Whim
- WHIM (AM) A Christian formatted radio station serving the Orlando, Florida U.S.A. metro area.
- WHIM, the Wessex Head Injury Matrix, a psychological test to assess and monitor recovery of cognitive function after severe head injury.
External links
- Picture of a horse powered whim used to wind the cables on to work the mine between the depth of 50 feet to 500 feet - photo taken at Gympie, Queensland, Australia