folly

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the quality of being rash and foolish

   trying to drive through a blizzard is the height of folly

2. 2
   noun

   Foolishness that results from a lack of foresight or lack of practicality.

   It would be folly to walk all that way, knowing the shops are probably shut by now.

3. 3
   noun

   Thoughtless action resulting in tragic consequence.

   The purchase of Alaska from Russia was termed Seward's folly.

4. 4
   noun

   A fanciful building built for purely ornamental reasons.

   A luncheonette in the shape of a coffee cup is particularly conspicuous, as is intended of an architectural duck or folly.

5. 5
   verb

   To follow.

   "You got any money?" he said to me. ¶ "Hell no, maybe enough for a pint of whisky till I get to Denver. What about you?" ¶ "I know where I can get some." ¶ "Where?" "Anywhere. You can always folly a man down an alley, can't you?"

6. 6
   noun

   A clump of trees, particularly one on the crest of a hill (or sometimes on a stretch of open ground).

   'Every hill seems to have a Folly' [...] 'I mean a clump of trees on the top.'

7. 7
   noun

   foolish or senseless behavior

8. 8
   noun

   a stupid mistake

Etymology

Uncertain. The most common theory is that term primarily denotes a clump of trees and relates to French feuille, feuillée and English foliage; it has also been suggested that it refers to some perceived connection or resemblance of the named place to an architectural folly, but many places so named have no architectural follies and cannot be named directly for them.