different between caprice vs capricious

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French caprice, from Italian capriccio, from caporiccio (“fright, sudden start”): capo (“head”), from Latin caput + riccio (“curly”), from Latin ?ricius (“hedgehog”), or from Italian capro (“goat”). Doublet of capriccio.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /k??p?is/

Noun

caprice (plural caprices)

1. An impulsive, seemingly unmotivated action, change of mind, or notion; a whim.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. A brief romance
   • Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

     The only difference between a caprice and a life-long passion is that a caprice lasts a little longer.

3. An unpredictable or sudden condition, change, or series of changes.
   • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness, chapter 6:

     After that we cast off all allegiance to immediate, tangible, and time-touched things, and entered a fantastic world of hushed unreality in which the narrow, ribbon-like road rose and fell and curved with an almost sentient and purposeful caprice amidst the tenantless green peaks and half-deserted valleys

4. A disposition to be impulsive.
5. (music) A capriccio.

Related terms

• capricious

Translations

French

Etymology

From Italian capriccio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.p?is/

Noun

caprice m (plural caprices)

1. whim; wish

   Synonym: lubie
2. tantrum

Derived terms

• capricieux

Descendants

• ? Danish: kaprice
• ? English: caprice
• ? Romanian: capriciu

Further reading

• “caprice” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French capricieux, from Italian capriccioso, from capriccio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??p????s/
• Rhymes: -???s

Adjective

capricious (comparative more capricious, superlative most capricious)

1. Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim.

   Synonyms: arbitrary, whimsical, fickle

   Antonyms: conscientious, rigorous

Usage notes

• Capricious can describe both a person and the decisions they make.

Derived terms

• capriciously

Related terms

• caprice

Translations

Anagrams

• auriscopic