quixotic

quixotic

English

WOTD – 28 November 2006

Alternative forms

• Don Quixotic, Don-Quixotic
• Quixotic

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Quixote, the surname of Don Quixote, the title character in the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kwɪkˈsɒtɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kwɪkˈsɑtɪk/, /kwɪɡˈzɑtɪk/, /kiːˈzɑtɪk/
• (rare) IPA^(key): /kiˈɑtɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒtɪk

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[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, “The Sign of the Broken Sword”, in The Innocence of Father Brown, London; New York, N.Y.: Cassell and Company, published 1911, OCLC 2716904:

     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 0362-4331:

     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 0362-4331:

     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.

Usage notes

Although the term is derived from the name of the character Don Quixote, the letters qu and x are both read as is usual for English spelling (/kw/ and /ks/), possibly due to analogy with exotic. In "Don Quixote", by contrast, the pronunciation more closely resembles the modern Spanish (/k/ and /h~x/).

Derived terms

• quixotically

Related terms

• quixotism
• quixotry

Translations

Resembling or characteristic of Don Quixote

Armenian: դոնկիխոտյան (donkixotyan) Bulgarian: донкихотовски (donkihotovski) Catalan: quixotesc (ca) Czech: donkichotský, donkichotovský Dutch: wereldvreemd (nl), donquichotterig, impulsief (nl) Esperanto: donkiĥota French: quichottesque German: quichottisch, lebensfremd (de), realitätsfern (de) Italian: donchisciottesco (it) Polish: donkiszocki, donkiszotowski Portuguese: quixotesco Russian: донкихо́тский (ru) (donkixótskij) Spanish: quijotesco (es), aquijotado m Swedish: donquijotisk (sv), romanesk (sv), äventyrlig (sv)

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

Translations to be checked

Hebrew: כדון קישוט‎ Vietnamese: hào hiệp viển vông

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.