Hypertext Webster Gateway: "folly"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Folly \Fol"ly\, n.; pl. {Follies}. [OE. folie, foli, F. folie,
fr. fol, fou, foolish, mad. See {Fool}.]
1. The state of being foolish; want of good sense; levity,
weakness, or derangement of mind.

2. A foolish act; an inconsiderate or thoughtless procedure;
weak or light-minded conduct; foolery.

What folly 'tis to hazard life for ill. --Shak.

3. Scandalous crime; sin; specifically, as applied to a
woman, wantonness.

[Achan] wrought folly in Israel. --Josh. vii.
15.

When lovely woman stoops to folly. --Goldsmith.

4. The result of a foolish action or enterprise.

It is called this man's or that man's ``folly,'' and
name of the foolish builder is thus kept alive for
long after years. --Trench.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

folly
n 1: the trait of acting stupidly or rashly [syn: {foolishness},
{unwiseness}] [ant: {wisdom}]
2: a stupid mistake [syn: {stupidity}, {betise}, {foolishness},
{imbecility}]
3: the quality of being rash and foolish [syn: {foolishness}, {craziness}]
4: foolish or senseless behavior [syn: {foolery}, {tomfoolery},
{indulgence}]


Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup

Enter word here:
Exact Approx


dict.stokkie.net
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents; see the Webster Gateway FAQ, and also the Back-end/database links and credits.