caprice

Etymology

Borrowed from French caprice, from Italian capriccio, from caporiccio (“fright, sudden start”). Doublet of capriccio.

noun

1. An impulsive, seemingly unmotivated action, change of mind, or notion.
   She is said to be the finest swordswoman on the Continent. Yet, notwithstanding her caprices, she is a noble-minded woman. 1899, Harold MacGrath, Arms and the Woman
2. A brief romance.
3. An unpredictable or sudden condition, change, or series of changes.
   After that we cast off all allegiance to immediate, tangible, and time-touched things, and entered a fantastic world of hushed unreality in which the narrow, ribbon-like road rose and fell and curved with an almost sentient and purposeful caprice amidst the tenantless green peaks and half-deserted valleys 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 6, in The Whisperer in Darkness
4. A disposition to be impulsive.
   Skill, endurance, and perseverance may almost be called muscular virtues; and fatigue, velleity, caprice, ennui, restlessness, lack of control and poise, muscular faults. 1906, G. Stanley Hall, Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene, page 9
   In selecting Bran Stark, the lords of Westeros are choosing to value these stories and memories above whatever other qualities might make a good ruler, and more specifically, put an end to the caprices of heritage that have allowed bloodlines to wreak havoc on good stewardship of these kingdoms. 19 May 2019, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club
5. (music) A capriccio.