volageadj.
Giddy, foolish; fickle, inconstant. (In later literary use reintroduced from modern French.) Also in combination volage-brained.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > giddiness, empty-headedness > [adjective]
idlec825
giddyc1000
volage?a1366
apec1370
foolisha1382
vain1390
idleful1483
volageous1487
glaikit1488
cock-brained1530
apish1532
empty1550
sillyc1555
frivolous?1563
tickle-headed1583
light-braineda1593
frothy1593
owlish1596
bird-witted1605
empty-headed1614
idle-headed1614
empty-pateda1628
marmosetical1630
grollish1637
feather-headed1647
nonsense1647
whirl-crowned1648
feather-brained1649
swimmering1650
soft-pated1651
weather-headeda1652
shuttlecock1660
drum-headed1664
chicken-brained1678
halokit1724
desipient1727
shatter-pated1727
scattered-brained1747
light-thoughted1777
scatter-brained1804
shandy-pated1806
hellicat1815
feather-pated1819
inane1819
weather-brained1826
bubble-headed1827
tomfoolish1838
bird-brained1892
tottle1894
fluffy1898
scatty1911
wandery1912
scattery1924
twitterpated1943
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical
startfulmood?a1300
wildc1350
volage?a1366
gerfulc1374
geryc1386
wild-headeda1400
skittishc1412
gerish1430
shittle1440
shittle-witted1448
runningc1449
volageous1487
glaikit1488
fantasious1490
giggish1523
tickle or light of the sear?1530
fantastical1531
wayward1531
wantona1538
peevish1539
light-headed1549
humoral1573
unstaid1579
shittle-headed1580
toy-headed1581
fangled1587
humorous1589
choiceful1591
toyish1598
tricksy1598
skip-brain1603
capricious1605
humoursome1607
planetary1607
vertiginous1609
whimsieda1625
ingiddied1628
whimsy1637
toysome1638
cocklec1640
mercurial1647
garish1650
maggoty1650
kicksey-winseya1652
freakish1653
humourish1653
planetic1653
whimsical1653
shittle-braineda1655
freaking1663
maggoty-headed1667
maggot-pated1681
hoity-toity1690
maggotish1693
maggot-headeda1695
whimsy-headed1699
fantasque1701
crotchetly1702
quixotic1718
volatile1719
holloweda1734
conundrumical1743
flighty1768
fly-away1775
dizzy1780
whimmy1785
shy1787
whimming1787
quirky1789
notional1791
tricksome1815
vagarish1819
freakful1820
faddy1824
moodish1827
mawky1837
erratic1841
rockety1843
quirkish1848
maggoty-pated1850
crotchetya1854
freaksome1854
faddish1855
vagrom1882
fantasied1883
vagarisome1883
on-and-offish1888
tricksical1889
freaky1891
hobby-horsical1893
quirksome1896
temperamental1907
up and down1960
untogether1969
fanciful-
fantastic-
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1284 She fulfilled of lustynesse, That was not yit twelve yeer of age, With herte wylde, and thought volage.
c1386 G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale 135 Whan phebus wyf had sent for hir lemman Anon þay wrouȝten al her wil volage.
?1402 Quixley Ballade xvii, in Yorks. Archæol. Jrnl. (1909) 20 49 Vnto Gawayn may he be resemblyng, Curteys of loue, bot he was ouer volage.
1480 W. Caxton tr. Ovid Metamorphoses xiv. ii. (Roxb.) 56 b He [Eneas] hath the herte harde, volage & more orageo[us] than the see.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. ccv A woman varyable as the wynde Beynge of hir loue vnstable and volage.
?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth xxxviii. f. 53 As a volage brayned man, he fully determyned agayne to begyn and contynue ye warre..rather than to yelde hym selfe to death or captiuyte.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) i. 17 Oure vit is ouer febil, oure ingyne ouer harde, oure thochtis ouer vollage, ande oure ȝeiris ouer schort.
a1722 J. Lauder Decisions (1759) I. 484 Some doubted how far such volage expressions inferred treason, being but lubricum linguæ.
a1773 E. Montagu Let. in D. Garrick Private Corr. (1832) II. 375 Lord Lyttelton is more volage, more difficult to fix, than any of Messieurs les Maccaronis.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) He's unco volage o' his siller.]
1845 E. Robinson Whitehall I. xxii. 268 As naturally alluring as beds of flowers to the volage butterfly.
1859 G. Meredith Ordeal Richard Feverel III. v. 150 Both [parties] are volage: wine, tobacco, and the moon, influence both alike.
1865 ‘Ouida’ Strathmore I. vi. 94 The volage, and somewhat indiscreet Princesse de Lurine.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > giddiness, empty-headedness > [noun]
giddiheadc1275
giddinessa1290
lighthead1340
vanityc1386
glaikitnessa1500
idleness1535
levity1564
emptiness1577
vainness1591
frivolousnessa1631
volageness1633
grollery1637
brain-giddinessa1652
desipience1656
desipiencya1682
frothinessa1716
inanity1756
frivolity1796
unpracticalness1828
unpracticality1840
bird-wittedness1854
scattiness1959
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness
giddinessa1290
lightnessc1384
gerishnessa1513
fantasticnessc1550
unstaidnessa1557
fantasticalness1583
triflingnessa1586
spleen1598
capriciousness1607
skittishness1607
humorousness1611
wavinga1628
volageness1633
arbitrariness1643
garishness1649
legerity1652
mercury1653
volatility1655
caprich1656
humoursomeness1662
hoity-toity1668
jollity1670
unaccountableness1676
freak1678
whimsya1680
featheriness1689
toysomeness1697
caprice1711
whimsicalness1715
flirtation1718
whima1721
flightiness1747
whimsicality1761
giggishness1781
fancifulness1818
hoity-toityness1820
whifflery1835
crotchetiness1837
quirkiness1870
faddishness1884
faddism1885
vagarity1886
erraticism1889
whimsiness1909
1633 A. Johnston Diary (1911) I. 179 The fear of folks speaking, rayling, and jesting at my sudaine chainge and volagnes disuaded me.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1920; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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adj.?a1366