quixotic

English

WOTD – 28 November 2006

Alternative forms

• Don Quixotic, Don-Quixotic
• Quixotic

Etymology

Derived 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.
   • 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:

     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.

2. Overly optimistic and moralistic.
3. Exceedingly idealistic.

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

• quixotically

Related terms

• quixotism
• quixotry

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, donkişotça, donkişotluk (tr)

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.