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quixotic. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
quixotic, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
quixotic in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
quixotic you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Derived from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, + -ic.
Pronunciation
Adjective
quixotic (comparative more quixotic, superlative most quixotic)
- Resembling or characteristic of the Spanish chivalric hero Don Quixote; possessed with or resulting from the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality; exceedingly idealistic.
1911 January 7, G K Chesterton, “The Sign of the Broken Sword”, in The Innocence of Father Brown, London, New York, N.Y.: Cassell and Company, published 1911, →OCLC:Olivier, as you know, was quixotic, and would not permit a secret service and spies.
2012 June 21, Alessandra Stanley, “So Sayeth the Anchorman”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:The message is not subliminal. […] Characters aren’t just quixotic, they cite Cervantes to one another.
2017 May 29, Mariana Alessandri, “In Praise of Lost Causes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:The war triggered in [Miguel de] Unamuno the realization that, in hopeless times, quixotic lunacy could save people from the paralysis that often accompanies defeatism.
2022 April 17, Stephen Burgen, “Barcelona honours Gabriel García Márquez with new library”, in The Observer, →ISSN:In the digital age, building a new library filled with old-fashioned printed books seems idealistic, almost quixotic.
Usage notes
- Although the term is derived from the name of the character Don Quixote, the letters ⟨qu⟩ and ⟨x⟩ are both typically read as is usual for English spelling (/kw/ and /ks/), possibly due to analogy with exotic. In Don Quixote, by contrast, the pronunciation usually more closely resembles the modern Spanish (/k/ and /h~x/).
Derived terms
Translations
Resembling or characteristic of Don Quixote
- Armenian: դոնկիխոտյան (donkixotyan)
- Bulgarian: донкихо́товски (donkihótovski)
- Catalan: quixotesc (ca)
- Czech: donkichotský, donkichotovský
- Dutch: wereldvreemd (nl), donquichotterig, impulsief (nl)
- Esperanto: donkiĥota
- Finnish: donquijotemainen, quijoottinen
- French: quichottesque
- German: quichottisch, lebensfremd (de), realitätsfern (de)
- Hungarian: Don Quijote-i, Don Quijote-s
- Italian: donchisciottesco (it)
- Polish: donkiszocki, donkiszotowski
- Portuguese: quixotesco (pt)
- Russian: донкихо́тский (ru) (donkixótskij)
- Spanish: quijotesco (es), aquijotado m
- Swedish: donquijotisk (sv), romanesk (sv), äventyrlig (sv)
- Turkish: Kişotvari
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Translations to be checked
Noun
quixotic (plural quixotics)
- (rare) A quixotic person or sentiment.
1975, Michael B. Schiffer, John H. House, The Cache River Archeological Project, page 179:The cultural quixotics attribute the change to inscrutable "cultural factors," which is tantamount to abandoning altogether the search for explanation.