Doodlingo

quixotic

what it means

Quixotic comes from a book. Don Quixote read so many tales of knights that he went out to be one, in a world that had moved on without him — and famously charged a row of windmills, believing them to be giants. So the word does two things at once, and both halves matter. A quixotic plan is generous, high-minded, aimed at something genuinely worth doing. And it will not work, because it is built on the world as the dreamer wishes it were. Calling something quixotic is therefore not calling it stupid. It is saying the aim was noble and the map was wrong.

Quixotic viene de un libro. Don Quijote leyó tantas historias de caballeros que salió a ser uno, en un mundo que ya había seguido sin él, y cargó contra unos molinos creyéndolos gigantes. La palabra dice dos cosas a la vez: el propósito era noble y el mapa estaba equivocado.

Quixotic vem de um livro. Dom Quixote leu tantas histórias de cavaleiros que saiu para ser um, num mundo que já seguira sem ele, e atacou uns moinhos achando que eram gigantes. A palavra diz duas coisas ao mesmo tempo: o propósito era nobre e o mapa estava errado.

Quixotic vient d'un livre. Don Quichotte lut tant d'histoires de chevaliers qu'il sortit en être un, dans un monde qui avait continué sans lui, et chargea des moulins qu'il prenait pour des géants. Le mot dit deux choses à la fois : l'intention était noble et la carte était fausse.

Quixotic berasal dari sebuah buku. Don Quixote membaca begitu banyak kisah ksatria sampai ia keluar untuk menjadi ksatria, di dunia yang sudah berjalan tanpa dirinya — lalu menyerbu kincir angin karena mengiranya raksasa. Kata ini mengatakan dua hal sekaligus: niatnya mulia, petanya keliru.

Quixotic bir kitaptan gelir. Don Kişot o kadar çok şövalye hikâyesi okudu ki, kendisi olmadan yoluna devam etmiş bir dünyada şövalye olmaya çıktı ve dev sanıp yel değirmenlerine saldırdı. Kelime aynı anda iki şey söyler: amaç soyluydu, harita yanlıştı.

quixotic は一冊の本から来ています。ドン・キホーテは騎士の物語を読みすぎて、自分もそうなろうと外へ出ました。世界はとうに彼を置いて先へ進んでいたのに。そして巨人だと信じて風車の列へ突進します。この語は同時に二つを言います——志は気高く、地図はまちがっていた、と。

  1. 01

    adjective

    idealistic in a way that will not work in practice

    It was a quixotic campaign, and it moved a great many people.

  2. 02

    adjective

    chasing a hopeless cause out of high principle

    His quixotic attempt to save the old cinema lasted two years.

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