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whigmaleerie

[hwig-muh-leer-ee, wig-]
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noun
  1. a whim; notion.
  2. a whimsical or fanciful ornament or contrivance; gimmick.
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Origin of whigmaleerie

1720–30; orig. Scots, earlier figmalirie, perhaps with fig (see fidget, whig); for -ma-, cf. rigmarole, thingamajig
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whigmaleerie

Historical Examples

  • Whigmaleerie, as to the derivation of which you seem to be in some perplexity, is in Norwegian Vægmaleri.

    On the Old Road, Vol. 2 (of 2)

    John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for whigmaleerie

whigmaleerie

noun Scot
  1. a trinket, whimsical ornament, or trifle
  2. a whim or caprice
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Word Origin

C18: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012