quixoticaladj.
/kwɪkˈsɒtɪkl/, U.S. /kwɪkˈsɑdɪk(ə)l/ = quixotic adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > faculty of conceiving ideals > tendency towards romance > romantic conduct > [adjective]
errantical1612
errantic1654
quixotical1657
Quixote1708
quixotish1743
quixotic1777
errant1822
1657 in tr. H. D'Urfé Astrea sig. A2v What falsly ravish'd the eager apprehension into amazement at impertinent and Quixoticall Attempts does now but gently enflame the minde into an æmulation of the perfections.
1768 Lynn Mag. 39 Why sure, a Quixotical Spirit has possessed them, and turned them all into Knights and Baronets.
1850 Fraser's Mag. 42 482 No Quixotical redresser of wrong.
1895 S. F. Smith Poems Home Country 122 They..brand our new schemes as insane or quixotical.
1930 Times 17 Dec. 4/3 The difficulties of bringing the matter before the Court, even if such a course was not unsuitable or unduly quixotical in a private citizen, appeared to be insuperable.
1982 A. A. Den Otter Civilizing West ii. 34 He took a seemingly paradoxical, even quixotical stand on the danger of American annexation.
2003 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 30 Mar. l8 With war on the horizon, Pound returned to the United States in 1939 in a quixotical quest to keep America out of the coming conflict.
Derivatives
quiˈxotically adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > faculty of conceiving ideals > tendency towards romance > romantic conduct > [adverb]
quixotically1798
1798 Reflector II. xxiii. 209 I rushed rapidly, tenderly, and some people would say Quixotically.
1844 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. July 5 Ready for self-sacrifice whenever necessary, though not quixotically courting it.
1995 Sports Illustr. 27 Feb. 9/3 The CCA continues to quixotically believe that recruits choose a school for reasons other than who the coach is.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1657