Where does “whimsy” come from?
Whimsy derives from English whim-wham, combining English whim with a reduplicative suffix ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos.
whimsy (English): A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd...
Definitions
- A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd...
Ancestry of “whimsy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | whim | A fanciful impulse, or whimsical idea; A large... |
| 2 | English | whim-wham | A whimsical object; a trinket; A whim or fancy |
Words derived from “whimsy”