Where does “whimsical” come from?

Whimsical is an English adjective formed from whim with the French suffix -ique, ultimately deriving from Latin -icus and related Latin suffixes -ia, -ivus tracing back to Proto-Indo-European -kos.

whimsical (English): Given to whimsy

Definitions

  1. Given to whimsy

Ancestry of “whimsical”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwhimsyA quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd...
2EnglishwhimA fanciful impulse, or whimsical idea; A large...
3Englishwhim-whamA whimsical object; a trinket; A whim or fancy

Words derived from “whimsical”

Every word from English whim-wham →Every word from English whim →Every word from English whimsy →