different between irregularity vs whim

English

Etymology

From Middle French irrégularité, from Medieval Latin irregularitas

Morphologically irregular +? -ity

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.?r?.?j?.?læ.r?.ti/

Noun

irregularity (countable and uncountable, plural irregularities)

1. (countable) An instance of being irregular.
2. (uncountable) The state or condition of being irregular, or the extent to which something is irregular.
3. (countable) An object or event that is not regular or ordinary.

   an irregularity of surface

4. (countable) A violation of rules.

   An investigation of the irregularities in the company's accounts uncovered a large-scale fraud.

5. (euphemistic) Irregular bowel movement (e.g. diarrhea or constipation).

Synonyms

• (state of being irregular): See also Thesaurus:nonuniformity

Antonyms

• regularity

Related terms

• irregular

Translations

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.