Link Centre Dictionary

vagary

va·gary

US/vəˈɡɛɚ.i/ uncommon

noun

1.

an unexpected and inexplicable change in something (in a situation or a person''s behavior, etc.)

  • “the vagaries of the weather”
  • “his wealth fluctuates with the vagaries of the stock market”
  • “he has dealt with human vagaries for many years”

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.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.