quixotismn.
/ˈkwɪksətɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈkwɪksəˌtɪz(ə)m/ Quixotic principles, character, or practice; an instance of this, a quixotic action or idea.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > faculty of conceiving ideals > tendency towards romance > romantic conduct > [noun]
quixotism1620
windmill1645
errantry1654
knight-errantry1660
quixotry1703
Don 'Quixotism1719
romance1745
quixoticism1850
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote iv. 24 Let's have more Quixotisms: Let Don Quixote assault, and Sancho speake.
1664 J. Wilson Cheats iii. i. 33 Such a Quixotism in Phylosophy, must needs please every man.
1688 Pulpit Popery, True Popery 36 All the Heroical Fictions of Ecclesiastical Quixotism.
1723 Briton No. 20 (1724) 86 His Publick Spirit would appear mere Quixotism to a Protestant People.
1797 ‘English Lady’ Resid. in France I. 166 If a momentary smile be excited by these Quixotisms.
1858 E. Bulwer-Lytton What will he do with It? viii. vi In the Quixotism of atonement for your father's fault.
1898 J. E. C. Bodley France II. iv. ii. 345 The scorn which inopportune quixotism provokes.
1929 K. Burke Let. 4 Jan. in Sel. Corr. K. Burke & M. Cowley (1988) 184 But what the hell made you think I don't live in a jungle? Certainties—uncertainties—risks—quixotism.
1962 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 15 June 10/7 Shrinking is not the posture of leadership. Neither is quixotism.
1989 O. R. Martí in J. J. E. Gracia & M. Camurati Philos. & Lit. in Lat. Amer. iv. 51 Quixotisms, of necessity, abound in Mexico today.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Oct. 9/2 One man's quixotism is very often another man's foresight.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1620