capricious

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The Word of the Day for March 18 is:

capricious   \kuh-PRISH-us\   adjective
      : governed or characterized by sudden, impulsive, and 
seemingly unmotivated ideas or actions : unpredictable

Example sentence:
      Given his capricious nature, Irving is more likely to go 
wherever the road takes him than follow any scripted plan.

Did you know?
      The noun "caprice," which first appeared in English in 
the mid-17th century, is a synonym of "whim." Evidence shows 
that the adjective "capricious" debuted about sixty years 
before "caprice"; however, it's likely that both words derived 
via French from the Italian "capriccio," which originally 
referred not to a sudden desire, but to a sudden shudder of 
fear. "Capriccio" in turn derives from the Italian "capo," 
meaning "head," and "riccio," the word for "hedgehog." Someone 
who shuddered in fear, therefore, was said to have a "hedgehog 
head" -- meaning that his or her hair stood on end like the 
spines of a hedgehog. Though no longer associated with 
fear, "capricious" now describes someone who acts through 
impulse instead of reason, perhaps as a fearful person might.