Emily Dickinson Lexicon

whim, n. [From whim-wham, compare flim-flam, jim-jam, trim-tram; applied to trivial things; compare also ON hvimsa, to wander with eyes as with the fugitive look of a frightened or silly person.]

1. Preference; favorite; [fig.] criterion; way of knowing.
2. Fancy; desire; impulse; capricious choice.