capri

a. [ L. caper goat. ] (Chem.) Of or pertaining to capric acid or its derivatives. [ 1913 Webster ]

Capric acid (also called decanoic acid), C9H19.CO.OH,
Caprylic acid (also called octanoic acid), C7H15.CO2.H, and
Caproic acid (also called hexanoic acid), C5H11.CO2.H, are fatty acids occurring in small quantities in butter, cocoanut oil, etc., united with glycerin; they are colorless oils, or white crystalline solids, of an unpleasant odor like that of goats or sweat. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ It. See Caprice. ] 1. (Mus.) A piece in a free form, with frequent digressions from the theme; a fantasia; -- often called caprice. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A caprice; a freak; a fancy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus) In a free, fantastic style. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. caprice, It. capriccio, caprice (perh. orig. a fantastical goat leap), fr. L. caper, capra, goat. Cf Capriole, Cab, Caper, v. i. ] 1. An abrupt change in feeling, opinion, or action, proceeding from some whim or fancy; a freak; a notion. “Caprices of appetite.” W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) See Capriccio.

Syn. -- Freak; whim; crotchet; fancy; vagary; humor; whimsey; fickleness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. capricieux, It. capriccioso. ] Governed or characterized by caprice; apt to change suddenly; freakish; whimsical; changeable. “Capricious poet.” Shak. “Capricious humor.” Hugh Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

A capricious partiality to the Romish practices. Hallam.

Syn. -- Freakish; whimsical; fanciful; fickle; crotchety; fitful; wayward; changeable; unsteady; uncertain; inconstant; arbitrary.

-- Ca*pri"cious*ly, adv. -- Ca*pri"cious*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. capricornus; caper goat + cornu horn: cf. F. capricorne. ] 1. (Astron.) The tenth sign of zodiac, into which the sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21. See Tropic. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sun was entered into Capricorn. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Astron.) A southern constellation, represented on ancient monuments by the figure of a goat, or a figure with its fore part like a fish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Capricorn beetle (Zool.), any beetle of the family Carambucidæ; one of the long-horned beetles. The larvæ usually bore into the wood or bark of trees and shrubs and are often destructive. See Girdler, Pruner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. caper, capra, goat. ] (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the tribe of ruminants of which the goat, or genus Capra, is the type. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. caprificatio, fr. caprificare to ripen figs by caprification, fr. caprificus the wild fig; caper goat + ficus fig. ] The practice of hanging, upon the cultivated fig tree, branches of the wild fig infested with minute hymenopterous insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is supposed that the little insects insure fertilization by carrying the pollen from the male flowers near the opening of the fig down to the female flowers, and also accelerate ripening the fruit by puncturing it. The practice has existed since ancient times, but its benefit has been disputed. [ 1913 Webster ]