whimn.1
/wɪm/, U.S. /(h)wɪm/ I. Senses relating to playfulness of caprice.† 1. A pun or play on words; a double meaning. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > [noun] > play on words, pun
allusion1550
nick1561
paronomasia1577
paronomasy1592
quiblin1605
quibblea1627
quiblet1627
clinch1629
quibbling1633
clink1634
clench1638
pun1644
conundrum1645
whim1652
pundigrion1673
jeu de mots1823
calembour1830
Tom Swifty1963
paronym1982
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew i. sig. B1v There was the whim, or double meaning on't.
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew i. sig. B1v One told a Gentleman His son should be a man-killer, and hang'd for't; Who, after prov'd a great and rich Physician, And with great Fame ith' Universitie Hang'd up in Picture for a grave example. There was the whim of that. Quite contrary!
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew i. sig. B2v Shall Squire Oldrent's Daughters Weare old rents in their Garments? (there's a whim too).
2. † a. A fanciful or fantastic creation; a whimsical object. Obsolete.† b. A whimsical fellow. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun] > product of
chimera1587
brainbrat1630
brain-being1659
capriccio1678
whim1678
whimsy1712
caprice1721
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > whimsical or fanciful object
whim-whama1529
whim1678
whimsy1712
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 8 When he..Had rifled all his Pokes, and Fobs, Of Gimcracks, Whims, and Jiggumbobs.
1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 16 Jan. (1948) II. 603 I came home at 7, & began a little Whim wch just came into my Head, & will make a threepenny Pamphlet.
1731 J. Cheny Hist. List Horse-matches 89 This Prize is call'd a Whim or whimsical Plate, because the Conditions of running for the same, are different from those of all other Prizes.
1752 D. Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 275 Were the testimony of history less positive..such a Government [as that of Sparta] would appear a mere philosophical whim or fiction.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 111 Some may praise the grass-plat whims, Which the gard'ner weekly trims.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun] > fanciful person
dreamera1425
fantast1588
fantastical1589
fantastic1598
maggot-monger1607
Sabine1610
maggot-patea1640
wham1691
whim1712
visionarya1719
imaginariana1729
ideologue1815
ideologist1818
fancier1828
idealist1829
abstractionist1844
phantasist1864
dreamsmith1873
luftmensch1902
cuckoo-lander1916
fantasist1923
pie-in-the-skyer1973
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 371. ¶2 That sort of Men who are called Whims and Humourists.
c. In ombre: the deciding on the trump suit by turning up the top card of the stock.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > ombre and quadrille > [noun] > actions or tactics
mediateur1797
defence1874
surrender1874
whim1874
solo1878
1874 H. H. Gibbs Game of Ombre 41 (note) Voltereta, though known in England (under the name of the Whim), was not appreciated there.
3.
a. A capricious notion or fancy; a fantastic or freakish idea; an odd fancy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun]
phantoma1375
fantasyc1440
conceitc1450
fancy1471
crotchet1573
whim-wham1580
vision1592
reverie1602
whimsy1607
windmill1612
brainworm1617
maggota1625
vapour1631
flama1637
fantastic1641
idea1660
whim1697
rockstaff1729
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
freak1785
whimsy-whamsy1807
crankum1822
whimmery1837
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim
fantasya1450
wantonness1531
humour1533
worm?a1534
will1542
toy?1545
whey-worm1548
wild worm1548
freak1563
crotchet1573
fancy1579
whim-wham1580
whirligig1589
caper1592
megrim1593
spleen1594
kicksey-winsey1599
fegary1600
humorousness1604
curiosity1605
conundrum1607
whimsy1607
windmill1612
buzza1616
capriccioa1616
quirka1616
flama1625
maggota1625
fantasticality1631
capruch1634
gimcrack1639
whimseycado1654
caprich1656
excursion1662
frisk1665
caprice1673
fita1680
grub1681
fantasque1697
whim1697
frolic1711
flight1717
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
maddock1787
kink1803
fizgig1824
fad1834
whimmery1837
fantod1839
brain crack1853
whimsy-whamsy1871
tic1896
tick1900
1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife ii. 24 Walking pretty late in the Park..A whim took me to sing Chivy-Chase.
1702 T. Savery Miner's Friend 80 Many such like Whims [as perpetual motion] are pretended to by Designing Men.
1713 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1898) IV. 254 The New-Printing House just erected, wch is (it seems, out of a Whim) to be called Typographéum Clarendonianum.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 89 See the sage hermit,..Wearing out life in his religious whim, Till his religious whimsy wears out him.
1832 H. Martineau Ella of Garveloch viii The scheme was no whim of the moment.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlii. 424 Mrs. Dombey may be in earnest, or she may be pursuing a whim, or she may be opposing me.
1899 A. Conan Doyle Confessions in Duet There are all..degrees of love, some just the whim of a moment, and others the passion of a lifetime.
b. In generalized sense: capricious humour or disposition of mind.
ΘΚΠ
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
a1721 M. Prior Enigma: Form'd half Beneath 7 They [sc. skates] serve the poor for use, the rich for whim.
1729 A. Pope Dunciad (new ed.) iii. 147 Sneering G**de, half malice and half whim.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xii. i. 376 I came up to pay my devotions; but whim, or perhaps revenge..determined her to put on the stranger.
1884 R. L. Stevenson Memories & Portraits (1887) xvi. 275 Mr. Besant so genial,..with so persuasive and humorous a vein of whim.
II. A mechanical device.
4.
a. A machine, used esp. for raising ore or water from a mine, consisting of a vertical shaft carrying a large drum with one or more radiating arms or beams to which a horse or horses, etc. may be yoked and by which it may be turned, the rope being wound on the drum by the horse's motion; also horse-whim (see horse n. Compounds 1d).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > winch or capstan
windas1293
wind1399
windlassc1400
fern1546
stow?1549
capstock1551
winch1577
draw-beam1585
wind-beam1585
winder1585
capstring1609
crab1627
guindall1628
gin1632
Jack1686
screw engine1688
twirl1688
moulineta1706
jack roll1708
wind-lifta1734
whim1738
stowce1747
whim-engine1759
macaroni gin1789
whimsy1789
winze1839
jack roller1843
wink1847
winding engine1858
fusee-windlass1874
come-along1891
1738 MSS. Dk. Portland (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 177 This Lord has destroyed the old ridiculous water works and whims that were then when made much in vogue.
1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 11 A Wheel and Axle, (which they call a Whim).
1770 Ann. Reg. 1769 Nat. Hist. 101/1 Four horses,..at a common wem or engine, are sufficient to keep the mine clear.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 143 A proper working Shaft, upon which a Whym may be erected.
1802 J. Mawe Mineral. of Derbyshire Gloss. Wim, an engine or machine to draw ore, worked by horses.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right III. xliv. 296 The whole plant, the whim, the tools,..—every mortal thing down to a worn-out hide bucket—was sold.
b. In form whin.
ΚΠ
1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Great Brit. ii. 3 Cutting the whin ropes nearly through.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 947/1 Whin (Mining), a machine for raising ores and refuse.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 9 June 5/3 Rolling a large oak tree with a timber whin.
c. A four-wheeled vehicle used esp. for conveying large cast-iron pipes.
ΚΠ
1922 Metrop. Water Board, Contr. for Pipelaying 3rd Sched., 1 horse, pipe whim and man.
Compounds
C1.
ΚΠ
1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 25 These whimm' Crown'd shees, these fashion-fansying wits.
1786 R. Burns Poems 234 Is there a whim-inspir'd fool, Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule..Let him draw near.
C2. General attributive, as whim-driver, whim-engine, whim-gin, whim-horse, whim-house, whim-kibble, whim-rope, whim-round, whim-shaft.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > winch or capstan
windas1293
wind1399
windlassc1400
fern1546
stow?1549
capstock1551
winch1577
draw-beam1585
wind-beam1585
winder1585
capstring1609
crab1627
guindall1628
gin1632
Jack1686
screw engine1688
twirl1688
moulineta1706
jack roll1708
wind-lifta1734
whim1738
stowce1747
whim-engine1759
macaroni gin1789
whimsy1789
winze1839
jack roller1843
wink1847
winding engine1858
fusee-windlass1874
come-along1891
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > that turns a piece of machinery
mill-horsec1443
mill-jade1612
whip-horse1677
gin-horse1693
whim-horse1759
well-horse1894
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > shaft > other types
stulm1693
whim-shaft1759
sump shaft1778
channel1816
staple1818
incline shaft1842
raise1877
stair-pit1883
subshaft1889
1759 W. Borlase in Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 504 The whim-house shook so terribly, that a man there at work ran out of it, concluding it to be falling.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 144 A whym Shaft to draw the Deads and Ore from the Sump of the Mine.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 150 Two horses..go round upon a platform named the Whym-round.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 165 In deep Mines, some whym ropes cost fifty or sixty pounds.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis Gloss. at Kibbal A Whym-Kibbal is a larger [bucket], which..serves to draw water with, or bring up the Ore to grass.
1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 684 In a whim gin the ropes run upon two wheel pullies over the shaft.
1834 2nd Rep. Cornwall Polytechn. Soc. 41 The Steam Whim Engine.
1855 J. R. Leifchild Cornwall: Mines & Miners 139 Shafts..intended for the extraction of ores (called whim-shafts where horse-whims are employed for extracting the produce).
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 84 Whim Driver.
1896 J. Hocking Fields of Fair Renown i The boy who drove the ‘whim horse’ cracked his whip.
Derivatives
whimmed adj. ? possessed with a whim or odd fancy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [adjective]
dreaminga1500
fantasied1590
chimerizing1604
vaporous1605
imaginative1626
whimsy1637
airy1643
whimmed1654
chimerical1660
figmentitious1660
notional1664
visionary1712
viewy1848
Barriesque1894
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical > marked or characterized by capriciousness
fantastical1531
feathery1601
fantasticala1618
arbitrary1646
fancy1646
whimmed1654
fantastic1658
volatile1661
vagarious1827
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot i. viii. 29 Our Don (or if Sancho had the braines, for the Squires were whim'd in the whiske) might very well from that encounter have stil'd himself a Knight of Millan.
ˈwhimmery n. a piece of whimsicality.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun]
phantoma1375
fantasyc1440
conceitc1450
fancy1471
crotchet1573
whim-wham1580
vision1592
reverie1602
whimsy1607
windmill1612
brainworm1617
maggota1625
vapour1631
flama1637
fantastic1641
idea1660
whim1697
rockstaff1729
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
freak1785
whimsy-whamsy1807
crankum1822
whimmery1837
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > a caprice or whim
fantasya1450
wantonness1531
humour1533
worm?a1534
will1542
toy?1545
whey-worm1548
wild worm1548
freak1563
crotchet1573
fancy1579
whim-wham1580
whirligig1589
caper1592
megrim1593
spleen1594
kicksey-winsey1599
fegary1600
humorousness1604
curiosity1605
conundrum1607
whimsy1607
windmill1612
buzza1616
capriccioa1616
quirka1616
flama1625
maggota1625
fantasticality1631
capruch1634
gimcrack1639
whimseycado1654
caprich1656
excursion1662
frisk1665
caprice1673
fita1680
grub1681
fantasque1697
whim1697
frolic1711
flight1717
whigmaleery1730
vagary1753
maddock1787
kink1803
fizgig1824
fad1834
whimmery1837
fantod1839
brain crack1853
whimsy-whamsy1871
tic1896
tick1900
1837 Fraser's Mag. 15 333 Had not Mr. Pugin's attention been too exclusively engrossed by that architectural whimmery.
1906 T. Sinton Poetry of Lochaber 182 We can imagine the swing of his bow with many a pause and twirl carrying through the whimeries of the rhyme.
ˈwhimship n. mock title for a whimsical person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [noun] > fanciful person > mock title of
whimship1793
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > capriciousness > capricious persons or animals > capricious or whimsical person
butterflya1500
wild-brain1580
wild-head1583
humorista1586
wild goose1597
barmy-froth1598
whirligig1602
maggot-monger1607
maggot-patea1640
kickshaw1644
whimsy-pate1654
maggot1681
volatilityship1771
whimship1793
vagarist1888
Jack-o'-wisp1896
Hamlet1903
temperamentalist1924
1793 Ann. Reg., Projects 337 You're sure to find his Whimship there.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
whimn.2
/wɪm/, U.S. /(h)wɪm/ The European wigeon.In later works.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > member of genus Anas (miscellaneous) > anas penelope (Eurasian widgeon)
wigeon1508
winder1542
atteal1600
smeath1622
smee1668
whistling duck1699
whima1705
white-face1709
poacher1888
a1705 J. Ray Synopsis Avium & Piscium (1713) i. 146 Penelope Aldrov. An Anas fistularis? The Wigeon, or Whewer, or Whim.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
whimv.
/wɪm/, U.S. /(h)wɪm/ 1. † a. intransitive with it: To play the whimsical fellow. Obsolete.† b. transitive. To put off by a whim or fancy. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > be inconstant [verb (intransitive)] > be whimsical
whim1704
1704 T. Baker Act at Oxf. iii. ii. 32 Blo. [Aside] The Rogue whims it rarely.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > cause to become inconstant [verb (transitive)] > desire capriciously > put off by a whim
whim1710
1710 R. Ward Life H. More 216 He knew not, how he came to be whimm'd off from it (as his expression was).
c. To desire capriciously, to have an odd fancy for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > be disposed or inclined to [verb (transitive)] > be favourably inclined to
reckOE
keep1297
to list ofa1300
to have, take a fancy for, to1465
lean1530
fantasy1548
to run upon ——1550
mind1648
to run to ——1809
whim1842
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > cause to become inconstant [verb (transitive)] > desire capriciously
whim1842
1842 F. Trollope Visit to Italy I. x. 153 What he whimmed to will, that he had power to do.
1860 S. Martin Westm. Chapel Pulpit ii. 15 He expects us to do not what we whim.
2. intransitive. Of the head: To be giddy, to ‘swim’. Now dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vertigo > have vertigo [verb (intransitive)]
turnOE
swimblea1400
whirl1561
wheel1593
whim1700
reel1701
swim1702
swirl1818
spin1819
giddy1845
1700 W. Congreve Way of World iv. i. 61 My head begins to whim it about—Why dost thou not speak? thou art both as drunk and as mute as a Fish.
1716–20 Lett. from Mist's Jrnl. (1722) I. 88 The first Night he retired to his Chamber, his Head whimm'd immediately.
Derivatives
ˈwhimming adj. whimsical, capricious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [adjective] > of fanciful nature
feigned1526
fantasticala1546
conceited1588
capricious1594
fanatical1598
vaporous1605
chimerical1638
chimeric1655
lymphatical1678
chimerian1682
wild goose1770
visionary1777
whimmy1785
whimming1787
Laputan1866
viewy1866
Alice1872
Alice-in-Wonderland1874
fantasied1882
Alician1898
blue-sky1920
pie in the sky1930
rocambolesque1935
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-
1787 J. Howie Plain Reasons for Dissent. 215 [The motion] was rejected on the whimming pretence there was no present danger.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.11647
n.2a1705v.1700