different between inclination vs whim

English

Etymology

From Middle English inclinacioun, inclinacyon, from Old French inclination and Latin incl?n?ti?.Morphologically incline +? -ation

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n.kl??ne?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

inclination (countable and uncountable, plural inclinations)

1. A physical tilt or bend.

2. A slant or slope.

4. A mental tendency.

5. (geometry) The angle of intersection of a reference plane

6. (obsolete) A person or thing loved or admired.
   • c. 1672-1679, William Temple, Memoirs

     you make will be a Discovery of your Inclinations

   • c. 1771, John Adams, speaking in a trial

     Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Synonyms

• (slant or slope): incline, inclining, steepness
• (tendency): leaning, proclivity, propensity

Derived terms

• inclinational

Related terms

• inclinable
• incline
• inclined plane
• inclinometer

Translations

Anagrams

• anilinction

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin incl?n?ti?, incl?n?ti?nem. See also inclinaison.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.kli.na.sj??/

Noun

inclination f (plural inclinations)

1. inclination (all senses)

Related terms

• incliner

Further reading

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(h)w?m/
• Rhymes: -?m

Etymology 1

Clipping of whim-wham.

Noun

whim (countable and uncountable, plural whims)

1. A fanciful impulse, or whimsical idea.
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Churchill to this entry?)

     Let every man enjoy his whim.

2. (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

Synonyms

• (fancy): lark, especially in phrase on a whim, see also Thesaurus:whim

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

whim (third-person singular simple present whims, present participle whimming, simple past and past participle whimmed)

1. (rare, intransitive) To be seized with a whim; to be capricious.

Further reading

• 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

Etymology 2

Compare whimbrel.

Noun

whim (plural whims)

1. A bird, the Eurasian wigeon.