whimsy

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd behaviour.

   “[…] Take heed of filling their [i.e., children's] heads with VVhimzies, and unprofitable Notions; for this vvill ſooner learn them to be malepert and proud, than ſober and humble.”

   “These days! where e'en th' extravagance of poetry, / Is at a loss for figures to express / Men's folly, whimsies, and inconstancy, / And by a faint description makes them less.”

   “[A]ll the ridiculous and extravagant ſhapes that can be imagin'd, all the fancies and whimſies of Poets and Painters and Ægyptian Idolaters, if ſo be they are conſiſtent with Life and Propagation, would be now actually in Being, if our Atheiſt's Notion were true: […]”

   “Egad, if her Majeſty has often theſe VVhimſies, I ſhall petition the Court to build a Bridge over the River, or let me reſign my Employment.”

   “It’s a lovely sequence cut too short because the show seems afraid to give itself over to romance and whimsy and wistfulness when it has wedgie jokes to deliver.”

2. (uncountable, usually)An impulsive, illogical or capricious character.
3. (countable, usually)A whim (capstan or vertical drum).
4. (countable, usually)A jigsaw puzzle piece that has been cut into a recognizable shape, as if on a whim; often the shape is representative of the theme of the image used for the puzzle.

   “"Dori, you have to solve this puzzle!" / "Sure, right away doctor. Quality construction … clean edges. Oh, a whimsy!"”

5. (countable, usually)The support that protects a finished piece as it is detached from a punty.

verb

1. (transitive)To fill with whimsies or whims; to make fantastic; to craze.

   “A wantonneſſe in wealth, methinks I agree not with, / Tis ſuch a trouble to be married too, / And have a thouſand things of great importance, / Jewells and plates, and fooleries moleſt mee, / To have a mans brains whimſied with his wealth: […]”

adj

1. Synonym of whimsical.

   “Whimsiest of the fairy brood, I cannot scold you if I would”

   “[…] and if in a whimsy mood I choose to read the opening chapters last, and the closing chapters first, […]”