quixotic

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English

Alternative forms

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)

  1. 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

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

quixotic (plural quixotics)

  1. (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.