A Folly Is a Building Made to Be Useless
Folly is foolishness. In architecture it names an ornamental building constructed for effect, with no practical purpose at all.
Folly is foolishness, or a foolish act. In architecture the word is a technical term with no insult intended: a folly is a building put up purely for decoration — a sham ruin, a tower with no rooms, a temple in a field. Eighteenth-century English landowners built them to complete a view, and uselessness is part of the definition. The word comes from French *folie*, madness, from *fol*, mad, which also gives *fool*.
- Foolishness. *Sheer folly.*
- An ornamental building. *A Gothic folly.*
- A foolish act. *The follies of youth.*
- Fool — from the same root. *A fool.*
- French — *folie*, madness. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | folly | Pure folly. |
| Plural | follies | Youthful follies. |
| Related | fool | A fool. |
| Related | foolish | Foolish talk. |
| French | folie | Madness. |
- It would be folly to sell now.Foolishness.
- The park contains an eighteenth-century folly.Architecture.
- Folie means madness in French.Etymology.
Kinds of architectural folly
- Sham ruin — built already broken, to suggest antiquity
- Prospect tower — for the view, with nothing else inside
- Grotto — an artificial cave, often shell-lined
- Temple — a classical structure placed to close a vista
- Hermitage — sometimes with a paid hermit in residence
Old French *folie*, madness or foolishness, from *fol*, mad, from Latin *follis*, a bellows, later a windbag or empty-headed person.
Why is a decorative building called a folly?
Because it serves no practical purpose. The name acknowledges the extravagance and is used without insult.
Are fool and folly related?
Yes. Both come from Latin follis, a bellows, which came to mean an empty-headed person.