Webster's English Dictionary

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caprice

ca.price \k*-'pre-s\ n [F, fr. It capriccio, lit., head with hair standing 
   on end, shudder, fr.]capo head (fr. L caput) + riccio hedgehog, fr. L 
   ericius 1: a sudden unpredictable turn or change; esp : WHIM  2: a 
   disposition to change one's mind impulsively  3: CAPRICCIO  mean an 
   irrational or fanciful notion. CAPRICE emphasizes lack of evident 
   motivation and suggests willfulness; FREAK suggests an impulsive, causeless 
   change of mind; WHIM stresses the unaccountability or quaintness of a 
   notion or desire; VAGARY suggests the erratic, extravagant, or 
   irresponsible character of a notion or impulse, CROTCHET implies a 
   perversely heretical or eccentric preference esp. on a trivial matter SYN 
   syn CAPRICE, FREAK, WHIM, VAGARY, CROTCHET