Dictionary definitions
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quixotic
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Quixotic \Quix*ot"ic\ (kw[i^]ks*[o^]t"[i^]k), a.
1. Like Don Quixote; romantic to extravagance; prone to
pursue unrealizable goals; absurdly chivalric; apt to be
deluded. See also quixotism. "Feats of quixotic
gallantry." --Prescott.
[1913 Webster]
2. Like the deeds of Don Quixote; ridiculously impractical;
unachievable; extravagantly romantic; doomed to failure;
as, a quixotic quest.
[PJC]
The word "quixotic" . . . has entered the common
language, with the meaning "hopelessly naive and
idealistic," "ridiculously impractical," "doomed to
fail." That this epithet can be used now in an
exclusively pejorative sense not only shows that we
have ceased to read Cervantes and to understand his
character, but more fundamentally it reveals that
our culture has drifted away from its spiritual
roots. --Simon Leys
(N. Y. Review
of Books, June
11, 1998, p.
35)
[PJC]
