Word of the Day - 11/15/25
quixotic
/kwɪk'sɑtɪk/(adj.): not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic
Her quixotic plan to transform the entire abandoned factory into a self-sustaining organic farm, without any significant funding, was met with skepticism from investors.
Word Origin
The word 'quixotic' originates from the Spanish character Don Quixote, the protagonist of Miguel de Cervantes's early 17th-century novel, 'El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha'. Don Quixote is a visionary and impractical idealist who, influenced by chivalric romances, sets out as a knight-errant to revive chivalry and right wrongs, often with absurd and unrealistic results. The adjective 'quixotic' was formed in English by adding the suffix '-ic' to the name 'Quixote', meaning extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
Words with similar origins, being derived from literary characters or authors, include: 'Gargantuan' (from Gargantua, a giant character by Rabelais), 'Malapropism' (from Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's play 'The Rivals'), 'Kafkaesque' (from the author Franz Kafka), and 'Machiavellian' (from the political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli).