capriccio
\ kuh-PREE-chee-oh; It. kah-PREET-chaw \ , noun;
1.a caper; prank.
2.Music . a composition in a free, irregular style.
3.a whim; caprice.
Quotes:
I fear, with all thy wit and pleasantry, thou art, after all, but one of those capriccios which Nature sometimes indulges in, merely to show how superior is her accustomed order to eccentricities, even accompanied with rare powers.
-- Benjamin Disraeli, "Vivian Grey," 1826
We think he has more definiteness, and soundness of general conception, than the late Mr. Keats, and is much more free from blemishes of diction and hasty capriccios of fancy.
-- Louis Auchincloss, "Love without Wings," 1991
Origin:
Capriccio may be a shortening of the Italian word caporiccio which means "head with bristling hair." It is related to the Latin word caper meaning "goat."
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