whim-wham
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.66 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "They′ll pull ye all to pieces for your Whim-whams, Your Garters and your Gloves,"
- "1807 April 18, “Anthony Evergreen” (Washington Irving), Salmagundi, or The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others, No. VIII, 1834, The Complete Works of Washington Irving in One Volume, page 35, And trust me, gentlefolk, his are the whim-whams of a courteous gentleman full of most excellent qualities ; honourable in his disposition, independent in his sentiments, and of unbounded good-nature, as may be seen through all his works."
- "But that wasn't what gave him the whim-whams so bad here. In the clearing, no more than ten feet away, stood a little stone cherub atop a fancy grave marker maybe three feet high."
Etymology
Uncertain; perhaps from North Germanic (compare Old Norse hvima (“to let the eyes wander”), Norwegian kvima (“to flutter”)), but in any case ultimately sound-symbolic/a fanciful reduplication (compare flim-flam).
Word Breakdown
- Root: -