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Added 10 October 2026

vagary

/vəˈɡɛɚ.i/ noun

Categories: ActionsObscure Words

Latin root: vagārī Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about vagary at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. An erratic, unpredictable occurrence or action.
  2. Something vague.
    to speak in vagaries
  3. An impulsive or illogical desire; a caprice or whim.

Origin

From Italian vagare (“wander”) and/or its source Latin vagārī (“to wander”), from Latin vagus (“wandering”). Later apparently reinterpreted in English as vague + -ery but without changing the spelling. By surface analysis, Latin vag(us) + -ary.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: capricewhimimpulsemulishvagueryerraticismstrayaberrancydeviationwandervarigationerrancy

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