madcap
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: compound
Etymology: The noun is derived from mad + cap (“(informal) head”). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
Compound parts: mad
cap
Inflected forms:
form: madcaps
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: mad-cap
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: mad cap
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: more madcap
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most madcap
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: mad-cap
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: mad cap
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: A person who acts in a capricious, impulsive, or reckless manner.
pos: noun
examples: Near-synonyms: mad lad, madlad
Come-on you mad-cap: Ile to the Ale-houſe vvith you preſently; […]
There vvas then in preſence, a certaine old Knight, called Sir Hugh Linne, a good ſouldier, but a very mad-cap, & one that liued chiefely vpon the liberalitie of noble men; […]
Lord, that ſuch a Mad-Cap as I ſhould ever live to be jealous!
I should like to have seen that noble old madcap Peterborough in his boots (he actually had the audacity to walk about Bath in boots!), with his blue ribbon and stars, and a cabbage under each arm, and a chicken in his hand, which he had been cheapening for his dinner.
gloss: A very foolish or irresponsible person; a fool, an idiot.
pos: noun
tags: South-Asia
examples: [R]un around as he commands. He is a madcap and we must learn to live with him. We are in his hands.
gloss: An insane person; a lunatic.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
rare
examples: VVhy vvhat a mad-cap hath heauen lent vs here?
Bel[lamont]. […] [W]hat place is this? / May[bery]. Bedlam iſt not? / Bel. VVhere theſe mad-men are, I neuer vvas amongſt them, as you loue me Gentlemen, lets ſee vvhat Greekes are vvithin. / […] / Bell. Pray beſtovv your name ſir vpon vs. / Full. My name is Full-moone. / Bell. You vvell deſerue this office good maiſter Full-moone: and vvhat mad-caps haue you in your houſe.
gloss: Capricious, impulsive, or reckless; also, bizarre, crazy, zany; or foolish, idiotic.
pos: adj
examples: a madcap activity    a madcap idea    a madcap plan
The film featured a madcap car chase that went right through a crowded café.
O lepidum caput, O mad cap maſter.
[H]is mad-cap follies, / VVhich ſtill like Hydras heads grovv thicker on him.
[T]hose fairy times when I was a mad-cap boy, crowding every enjoyment into the present moment; […]
The young Oxonian, on the contrary, had led out one of his maiden aunts, on whom the rogue played a thousand little knaveries with impunity; he was full of practical jokes, and his delight was to tease his aunts and cousins; yet, like all mad-cap youngsters, he was a universal favourite among the women.
[T]he madcap girl ran up to her mother, put her arms round her waiſt, kiſſed her, tried to make her dance, and ſaid: "Don't be ſilly, you kind little mamma, and cry about Frank turning Papiſt. What a figure he muſt be, with a white ſheet and a candle walking in a proceſſion barefoot!"
My madcap plan was to catch that 0456, then hang about – probably for the 0624.
With this shift in both what shows are being made, and in what viewers desire, the genre hearteningly appears to be reverting to its roots of being an entertainment spectacular, giving the space for novelty and mad-cap amusement that's presented in a warm and humorous way. After a discordant patch, it's in tune again – even if some auditionees, as ever, are not.
Derived words: madcappery
Translations: