From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
[1913 Webster]
2. A foolish act; an inconsiderate or thoughtless procedure;
weak or light-minded conduct; foolery.
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What folly 'tis to hazard life for ill. --Shak.
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3. Scandalous crime; sin; specifically, as applied to a
woman, wantonness.
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[Achan] wrought folly in Israel. --Josh. vii.
15.
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When lovely woman stoops to folly. --Goldsmith.
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4. The result of a foolish action or enterprise.
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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.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
folly
n 1: the trait of acting stupidly or rashly [syn: {folly},
{foolishness}, {unwiseness}] [ant: {wisdom}, {wiseness}]
2: a stupid mistake [syn: {stupidity}, {betise}, {folly},
{foolishness}, {imbecility}]
3: the quality of being rash and foolish; "trying to drive
through a blizzard is the height of folly"; "adjusting to an
insane society is total foolishness" [syn: {folly},
{foolishness}, {craziness}, {madness}]
4: foolish or senseless behavior [syn: {folly}, {foolery},
{tomfoolery}, {craziness}, {lunacy}, {indulgence}]
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