capricious English · revision 156
5 Oct 2026, 22:07 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -1,7 +1,37 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /kəˈpɹɪʃəs/, /kəˈpɹiʃəs/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− Recorded in the 1590s in the sense “humorous”, and from c. 1600 as “apt to change the mind suddenly, fickle”.^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|frm|capricieux|t=whimsical]],^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) [[der|it|capriccioso]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) [[der|it|capriccio]].^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)
+ It is [[bor|frm|capricieux|t=whimsical]],^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) [[der|it|capriccioso]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) [[der|it|capriccio]].^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)
By surface analysis, [[af|en|caprice|-ious]].^(Wiktionary)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ “Humorous; marked by play of wit or fancy” (1590s), a sense now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From c. 1600 the word meant “apt to change one's mind suddenly; fickle”,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and from 1823 it was applied to things subject to irregular change.^(OED 1989) It can describe both people and the decisions they make.^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1594 – “humorous, fanciful”, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1605 – “guided by whim; fickle”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1823 – of things, “subject to irregular change”.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Governed by whim; impulsive and unpredictable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(obsolete)'' Fanciful or witty.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[capriciously]]
+ * [[capriciousness]]
+ * [[noncapricious]]
+ * [[uncapricious]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[caprice]]
+ * [[capriccio]]
+ * [[fickle]]
+
==References==
{{reflist}}