capricious

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 2, 2015 is: capricious • \kuh-PRISH-us\  • adjective : governed or characterized by caprice : impulsive, unpredictable Examples: The court ruled that the punishment was arbitrary and capricious. "Some of her songs are humorous, even capricious, though many reflect on the more hidden of life's injustices." - St. Augustine (Florida) Record, February 27, 2015 Did you know? The noun caprice, which first appeared in English in the mid-17th century, is a synonym of whim. Evidence shows that the adjective capricious debuted about sixty years before caprice; it's likely, however, that both words derived via French from the Italian capriccio, which originally referred not to a sudden desire but to a sudden shudder of fear. Capriccio in turn derives from the Italian capo, meaning "head," and riccio, the word for "hedgehog." Someone who shuddered in fear, therefore, was said to have a "hedgehog head"-meaning that his or her hair stood on end like the spines of a hedgehog. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.