What is "folly"

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.

early 13c., "mental weakness; foolish behavior or character; unwise conduct" (in Middle English including wickedness, lewdness, madness), from Old French folie "folly, madness, stupidity" (12c.), from fol (see fool (n.)). From c.1300 as "an example of foolishness;" sense of "costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder" is attested from 1650s. But used much earlier, since Middle English, in place names, especially country estates, probably as a form of Old French folie in its meaning "delight." Related: Follies.

n. 1 foolishness#English. 2 Thoughtless action resulting in tragic consequence. 3 A fanciful building built for purely ornamental reasons.

1. n. 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, craziness, lunacy, indulgence]

In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or appearing to be so extravagant that it transcends the range of garden ornaments usually associated with the class of buildings to which it belongs.

18th century English gardens and French landscape gardening often featured mock Roman temples, symbolizing classical virtues. Other 18th century garden follies represented Chinese temples, Egyptian pyramids, ruined abbeys, or Tatar tents, to represent different continents or historical eras. Sometimes they represented rustic villages, mills and cottages, to symbolize rural virtues. Many follies, particularly during famine, such as the Irish potato famine, were built as a form of poor relief, to provide employment for peasants and unemployed artisans.

In English, the term began as "a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder", the OED's definition, and were often named after the individual who commissioned or designed the project. The connotations of silliness or madness in this definition is in accord with the general meaning of the French word "folie"; however, another older meaning of this word is "delight" or "favourite abode" This sense included conventional, practical, buildings that were thought unduly large or expensive, such as Beckford's Folly, an extremely expensive early Gothic Revival country house that collapsed under the weight of its tower in 1825, 12 years after completion. As a general term, "folly" is usually applied to a small building that appears to have no practical purpose, or the purpose of which appears less important than its striking and unusual design, but the term is ultimately subjective, so a precise definition is not possible.

A folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration. It is also a synonym of foolishness, the lack of wisdom.

Folly may also refer to:

Folly is a band from Sussex, New Jersey. Their music is a mix of hardcore, metal, punk and ska. The band's final lineup included Arben Colaku on bass, Geoff Towle on guitar, Anthony Wille on drums, Agim Colaku on guitar, and Jon Tummillo on vocals.

They chose the name Folly due to its implications that a "costly undertaking having an absurd or ruinous outcome" is in fact the complete metaphor of the band and its members. In their words, "Folly is exactly what we are, not just as a band of fools who play ridiculously entwined and exploited musical genres, but as people who are continually kicked while they are down, while stubbornly and resiliently grinning in the face of mainstream adversity."

Folly has released two albums, two extended plays, visited 48 states, and have played 43 of them. Their broad musical palette and wide range of influences have allowed them to share the stage with such acts as Dillinger Escape Plan, New Found Glory, Chiodos, Catch 22, Converge, Senses Fail, Dragonforce, My Chemical Romance, Unearth, With Honor, Houston Calls, Taking Back Sunday, Atreyu, The Starting Line, and Bad Religion to name a few.

Folly was a common allegorical figure in medieval morality plays and in allegorical artwork through the Renaissance. The depiction is generally of a young man, often similar in appearance to a jester or the tarot card, The Fool. In contrast to the many obvious classical allusions in such works, the depictions owe little to the Greek goddess Atë.

In drama, the character tempts the protagonist into foolish action, successfully or not. In an allegorical painting, the figure may be counterpoised to Prudence, representing a choice, or alone, representing the unwisdom of the actors in the painting.

Folly is a historic plantation house located near Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia. The house was built about 1818, and is a one-story, brick structure with a long, low service wing and deck-on-hip roof in the Jeffersonian style. It has an original rear ell fronted by a Tuscan order colonnade. The front facade features a tetrastyle pedimented portico with stuccoed Tuscan columns and a simple lunette in the pediment. A similar portico is on the north side and a third portico was replaced by a wing added in 1856. The house closely resembles Edgemont near Covesville, Virginia. Also on the property are contributing original brick serpentine walls, a spring house, smokehouse and icehouse.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.