WORD HISTORIES VII

CAPRICE 

When we think of the word caprice, hedgehogs and goats don't immediately come to mind. Yet both animals play a part in its history. Caprice comes from the Italian word capriccio,which meant "fright, a state of being startled." The Italian word combined two words, capo, "head," and riccio, "hedgehog," because in a state of fright one's hair stands on end like the spines of a hedgehog. Over time, part of the word was associated with the word capra, "goat," which it resembled, and possibly because being startled is behavior characteristic of goats. Other goat-like traits then became part of  the meaning of the word, including impulsive behavior - or, as it means today, a sudden/impulsive change of mind.